Chapter Twenty-Six
Reunited
Meanwhile, Raphael, Michelangelo, Monalisa and Splinter were walking through the tunnel near the entrance of the lair and Splinter was smelling the air trying to pick up the scent of the girls.
Donatello remained behind to keep an eye on the worried Leonardo.
"Can you smell them, Master?" Raphael asked concerned.
"I can yes." Splinter said, "But it is distant."
"I hope they haven't gone far!" Monalisa said clutching at straws.
"Pandora? Kemeko?" Michelangelo called yet all he heard was his echo as well as the drips down the walls, scuttling rats and insects and the rushing water of the sewers.
Splinter continued to sniff the air and lead the way through the sewers, all the while Raphael, Monalisa and Michelangelo looked around as they tried not to fear the worst.
"Kids?" Raphael shouted.
"Pandora? Kemeko?" Monalisa called.
"Girls?" Michelangelo hollered yet the echoes just kept bouncing back.
Splinter frowned but then his eyes widened as the scents of the girls could stronger and he held up his paw.
"Sensei?" Raphael, Monalisa and Michelangelo said together.
"I just picked up their scent and it's strong!" Splinter reported "They're not far from here!"
"Oh, thank goodness!" Monalisa cried.
"Pandora? Kemeko?" Raphael shouted again.
"Dad!?"
The four mutants heard Pandora's desperate voice from down the dark tunnel.
"It's Dad!"
"Pandora!" Raphael shouted and ran ahead, followed closely by Monalisa and the turtle and lizard rounded a corner to see a badly beaten-up Pandora accompanied by Kemeko who had an arm around her helping her limp along.
"GIRLS!" Monalisa shrieked then she saw her daughter's wounds "Oh my God!"
"Pandora? What happened to you!?" Raphael roared as he too saw his daughter's condition as well as her ripped clothes.
Pandora ran to her parents and practically fell before her father who instantly scooped her close to him and Monalisa fell beside him.
"What the shell happened?" he demanded furiously "Who did this to you?"
Pandora said nothing but snuggled into her father's chest as he held her close.
"Uncle Raph? Aunt Monalisa?" Kemeko spoke then she saw Michelangelo and Splinter run up.
"Girls! Where have you been?" Michelangelo demanded and he recoiled when he saw Pandora's injuries, as did Splinter but the rat kept his cool and demanded they return to the lair so Pandora could be treated.
Raphael, as much as he was furious and wanted to know who hurt his daughter picked her up bridal style, and led the way back to the lair with Monalisa, Michelangelo, Splinter and Kemeko walking behind him.
Back in the lair in Donatello's medical room, Donatello was redressing Leonardo's wound which was healing nicely given their mutated forms being stronger and faster healing than the humans, but the wound was still deep, red, and angry as well as painful.
Both turtles practically jumped out of their skins when they saw Raphael appear with a wounded Pandora.
"What the shell!?" Donatello cried as he saw the battered hybrid and he pointed to the other medical bed which Raphael set his daughter on and the purple masked turtle analysed Pandora's wounds.
"What happened?" he asked, "How did you...?" he paused as he looked at the wounds and recognised what had been used to hurt his niece as well as the stings and burns from Cobra's venom and he directed Raphael put her on another medical bed so he could look properly.
Leonardo went pale as he saw Pandora's condition and as he saw Kemeko appear he jumped out of the bed despite his painful shoulder, before running over to her and grabbing her in a tight hug.
"Kemeko! Lotus!" he cried "Thank goodness you're okay!"
Kemeko hugged Leonardo back and sniffed.
"Oh father! I'm sorry!" she wept "I'm sorry I ran away!"
"You what?!" Raphael asked.
Splinter frowned and rubbed his chin.
"It would seem there is a lot of explaining to do." He said with a frown as he looked at Kemeko who was sobbing into Leonardo's shoulder.
Pandora winced as Donatello looked at her wounds.
"How did this happen?" he asked as he started to clean them.
"The Foot!" Pandora said "They tortured me! Tried to get me to speak!"
"WHAT!?" everyone cried.
"How? How did the Foot find you!?" Monalisa shrieked "You went topside!?" she cried as she thought about the situation.
Pandora was about to explain, but her father spoke first.
As he heard his daughter say the Foot were responsible for her wounds, Raphael went deep mauve with rage, and he gripped his sai.
"THOSE FUCKING MONSTERS!" he screamed "I'll tear them all to shreds!"
Monalisa too was furious, but she turned to Raphael and stopped him from leaving the room by grabbing his arm.
Michelangelo too snarled in anger.
"I'll join you, bro!" he agreed, a rare moment in which Michelangelo showed proper anger "I'll break their jaws for what they did to my Geisha!"
"Raphael!" Splinter barked "Michelangelo! You will do no such thing! We need to get the full story!"
Leonardo nodded and he let go of Kemeko and directed her to a seat next to Pandora's bed.
Kemeko kept her head down and sat on the chair, still sniffling and her hair falling around her face.
Splinter stood opposite Kemeko and Pandora as Donatello looked at the hybrid's wounds.
"Jesus!" the medic turtle muttered as he looked "Cuts, bruises, electrical burns, Cobra's venom!" he reported.
Monalisa and Raphael seethed with anger, Leonardo gritted his teeth, and Michelangelo glowered as well.
Splinter too was furious, but he kept calm.
"My granddaughters." He said in a stern yet soft voice, turning to Pandora and Kemeko, "Tell us everything!"
Meanwhile, back at the Foot Headquarters, the off-duty ninjas had recovered from being beaten by Pandora and Kemeko and were running to Shredder's throne room.
They were worried as well as scared of what punishment they would face from the Shredder once he realised that Pandora and Kemeko had escaped.
No sooner did they arrive at the throne room; they told the guards by the door why they were there, that it was an emergency, and the guards opened the door.
Shredder had been sitting at the top of the room and he looked up furiously.
"You dare enter without permission?" he barked furiously, picking up his knuckle duster that had two long sharp spikes on it.
The off-duty ninjas ran inside and were ready to bow before him in submission but they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the small black haired teenaged girl in front of the Shredder.
"What in the world?!" the first American male ninja gasped.
"What's she doing there?" the American woman cried.
"If she's there? Who was that girl who escaped with the hybrid?" the female Asian ninja questioned.
Kemeko turned around as the ninja entered, her eyes swollen from crying, and she gasped as she saw them.
"Why are you here?" Shredder shouted, "I gave orders not to be disturbed!"
"But Master!" the first male Asian ninja cried "The Hybrid escaped!"
"She what!?" Shredder raged as he stepped towards the off-duty ninjas "You let her get away!?"
Kemeko blinked then despite her tears she felt overjoyed Pandora had managed to escape.
"Oh, thank goodness!" she wept "She got away! Pandora got away!"
Shredder was so angry he lifted his weapon to strike, but one of the Asian females was quick to tell him that a girl resembling Kemeko had left with Pandora.
As Shredder heard that, he too stopped in his tracks, yet he didn't lower his weapon and he stared at the scared ninja then at Kemeko behind him.
"Impossible!" he said "You're lying! You dare lie to me!"
"It's true sir!" the first male ninja said "We saw them both! The Hybrid and her!" he pointed at Kemeko "At least, a clone!"
"We swear on our lives!" the other ninja joined in.
"WHAT!?" Shredder barked in alarm.
As Kemeko heard that, she went pale and gasped in terror.
"How is that possible!?" Shredder shouted.
"I can answer that, Master."
The Shredder, the off-duty ninja and Kemeko looked to the door, and they saw Dr Arden appear with Arashi, Hanako and the Venomous Five, all with knowing looks on their faces.
Shredder looked at Dr Arden.
"Speak William!" he ordered.
Dr Arden smirked and looked to Hanako who looked to Kemeko then held up a small test tube which had spots of blood and skin in it.
Kemeko looked at the test tube then she glanced down at her arm where an abrasion was, and she remembered getting that when Pandora had pulled her into the alley and she had fallen on the ground.
"NO!" she cried "Oh God, please no!" she fell to the ground and sobbed hard as she started to realise what had happened, as well as remember the other night when they fought the clones of Arashi and Arden and they were the ones who had let slip the truth about her parents.
Shredder looked at Hanako then at Dr Arden who began to tell his story.
Flashback
As Arashi, Hanako, Dr Arden and the other ninja had been dismissed to let Shredder talk to Kemeko privately, they walked down the hallway to get to their respected quarters.
The Elite Ninjas left in one direction whilst Dr Arden, Arashi and Hanako walked together for a bit.
"Gentleman." Hanako spoke "You know, I have been thinking."
"Thinking of what, Cherry?" Arashi asked licking his lips.
"If I am correct, the turtles will come and search for the girls when the sun sets, and no doubt they will break in here like they have before. If we know those freaks like we do, they never leave one of their own to the enemy!"
Dr Arden and Arashi stopped walking and stared at Hanako.
"Given how they have succeeded in their missions against us." Hanako went on "I have an idea that will delay them and maybe even work to our advantage."
"And what is that?" Dr Arden asked.
Instead of answering, Hanako pulled out a small test tube from her breast and held it up.
Dr Arden and Arashi stared at it, and they soon realised what was inside.
"Blood and skin cells?" Arashi asked.
"From the human girl!" Hanako explained "I took the sample from a cut on her arm when she wasn't looking, it was where she had fallen over when the hybrid grabbed her when she pulled her into the alleyway, I believed it would come in use to you William!" she turned to Dr Arden and handed him the test tube.
Dr Arden took it and a smirk formed on his scarred face.
"Hanako, you really are a wonder!" he said, "You are a genius!"
Arashi was slightly confused, and Dr Arden saw it.
"Follow me to my lab!" he smirked.
Arashi and Hanako followed Dr Arden to his labs and when they entered one of them, they saw it was filled with large water tanks with faceless and genderless bodies in them.
Dr Arden walked over to one of the tanks where the body inside was slightly smaller than the others.
"Perfect!" he said, "I think this will work well!"
Arashi and Hanako watched as Dr Arden took some of the samples Hanako had given him and put it into one of the machines attached then typed in a few codes.
"Here we go…" he said, his body shaking with hope and excitement.
After he had finished putting in the samples and the data, the water tank bubbled and the body within began to change.
Arashi and Hanako watched in amazement and Dr Arden smirked as the body began to change and develop.
Long black ebony hair grew on the head, and the body became feminine as well as developed into that of a teenage girl.
When the process was completed, the tank began to drain of water and the body floated to the bottom of the tank and it opened revealing the naked body of a teenage Asian girl.
As that happened, a couple of female scientists ran over and quickly dried and covered the clone and helped her stand.
"Yes! Yes!" Dr Arden cheered "A success!"
He looked at the girl who was dried by the female scientists who stood on either side of her.
The girl had her eyes closed and her head bowed, but Dr Arden walked over and put his finger under her chin and lifted her head.
As her head went up, Arashi saw she resembled Kemeko exactly like a mirror image.
"A twin!" he cried.
Dr Arden nodded then turned to the clone.
"What is your name child?" he asked placing a finger under her chin and making her look up at him.
"My name is Kemeko." The girl spoke softly "My name is Kemeko!"
Arashi's grin got wider, and he grabbed Hanako before kissing her deeply.
"You are a clever girl!" he said as he slid from her lips "My clever little cherry!"
Dr Arden coughed and Arashi looked to him.
"Well done, William!" he smirked "Now what's the next step!"
Hanako smirked and looked at Dr Arden before turning to the clone….
End Flashback
"…And so, you see Master, upon our orders, the Kemeko clone has left with Pandora, and that mole will inform us where our enemies are hiding and then we shall ambush them!" Dr Arden said "Thanks to Hanako's quick thinking and actions!"
Arashi licked Hanako's ear.
"She's a diamond!" he said, "My diamond!" he added with his whisper to which Hanako smirked and tilted her head so Arashi could nuzzle and lick her.
Kemeko sat up and she glared at Dr Arden.
"You…" she snarled as she stood up, grabbed a sharp knife from Shredder's table and ran over to Dr Arden.
"YOU MONSTER!" she then threw the knife at him, and the blade caught the unburnt side of Dr Arden's face.
Dr Arden cried out in pain and recoiled, then as he recovered, he turned to Kemeko as he touched his bloody wound.
"You little brat!" he hissed as he took a step towards Kemeko, his wound healing as he moved.
Kemeko glowered and got into a fighting stance, but Shredder stopped Dr Arden by blocking him with his arm.
"You will not touch her!" he said, he then turned to the off-duty ninja "Take her to her room! And make sure it's guarded!"
"Hai Master Shredder." The off-duty ninjas agreed and went over to Kemeko who stepped back yet still stayed in a fighting stance.
"Stay back! Don't touch me!" she screamed; she didn't have her weapons since they had been given to her clone, but she knew how to fight well unarmed.
As the ninjas approached her, Kemeko struck out at them threating to hit or kick them back if they tried.
"You fools! Grab her!" Shredder shouted.
The Ninjas went for Kemeko, but she flipped and punched and kicked them back.
"Let me go!" she shouted, "Let me fucking go!"
The ninjas tried to grab her again but each time, Kemeko fought back making it difficult for anyone to get close to her!
As Kemeko kicked the last ninja back, she was suddenly grabbed and lifted off the ground as a large hand grabbed her around the waist.
"Gotcha! You little insect!"
Kemeko's blood ran cold as she heard Komodo Dragon's voice behind her, and she turned to see the large mutant lizard was holding her like one would hold a toy soldier or a soda bottle.
"That was a naughty thing to do!" Komodo Dragon tutted wagging his finger at Kemeko.
"Thank you Komodo." Shredder snarled then glared at the off-duty ninja planning to punish them for their failure.
Kemeko glared at Dr Arden.
"You think a clone will fool my family?" she shouted "They're not stupid you know! They can spot a fake a mile away!"
Dr Arden just smirked at Kemeko knowingly and Arashi and Hanako chuckled evilly.
"Take Kemeko to her room!" Shredder ordered "And make sure she doesn't escape! If she's unwilling to accept her heritage and know where she truly belongs, then I will be forced to make her stay!"
"Very well!" Komodo Dragon growled then turned to the other Venomous Five "Come on you four!" he said leading them out of the room, with Kemeko struggling and protesting in his grasp.
Shredder watched them go then smirked at Dr Arden, Arashi and Hanako.
"Well done." He said "Now all we must do is wait for the word from the mole! And the ninja will scout the sewers! In the meantime, you three shall be rewarded greatly."
Dr Arden, Arashi and Hanako looked pleased and Hanako moaned as Arashi kissed and nibbled her neck.
"And you'll get a personal reward from me Cherry Blossom." The evil man purred to which Hanako smirked and moaned in pleasure.
So it's been revealed that Kemeko, the real Kemeko is still with the Shredder and a clone was sent in her place to rescue Pandora and return to the turtles's lair!
Did any of you see that coming? Did you think it was going to be that easy that Kemeko just ran and escaped? Well, don't blame you if you did!
Hanako despite being a villian has a good idea sometimes!
I'm sure a lot of you will wonder if the turtles, Monalisa, Splinter and Pandora will realise that the Kemeko they have in the lair is a fake, and a Mole! And will it be too late when they find out?
Well that's for me to know and you to find out!