Note: Happy Birthday to MergingEmperor7!
Also shout out to Tyroth Darkstorm for his input in this chapter!
Also references to his fanfic 'Nemesis' and his character Vulstrun appear in this chapter!
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sneaking Out
Back topside, Hanako and Kodama were talking in his office in his Building.
"You say your men have been attacked by mutant animals?" Hanako asked cocking her head on one side.
Kodama nodded.
"When I questioned them, I demanded them to find me evidence, but each time they tried to trace back to the day they were attacked and the areas they were in, there has been no evidence to be had!"
Hanako frowned.
"But only three weeks ago one of my men had managed to catch a glimpse of them on camera, yet it was still difficult to make out!"
He produced a photograph from a drawer in his desk and handed it to Hanako.
The woman took the photograph and studied it.
It was rather dark, and the quality was poor, but Hanako would see it was a photograph of a battle, there were some figures that were almost silhouetted in the darkness, but they resembled more animalistic forms than human.
Hanako frowned harder as she looked at the photo then she thought of the Hamato Clan they had prisoner in the Foot Headquarters, then the animal mutants that had attacked the Headquarters and taken their hostages.
"So, it seems that Kodama has animal mutants here as well." She mused "I wonder if they are the same ones?"
Looking at the photo, she again wasn't sure since the forms didn't look very clear, but she could see that these figures had tails, and one looked like they had see-through wings.
The Japanese woman chewed her lips and fiddled with her hair as she continued to observe the photo.
"So, what do you make of it?" Kodama asked looking over at Hanako.
"I believe you are dealing with some interesting creatures." Hanako replied "Yet I have an open mind they might be people in costume, and rather well-done ones may I add."
Kodama frowned.
"Maybe so, but some of my men were adamant that these creatures that attacked them were not humans in disguise."
"Yet there is no other supporting evidence that this photo." Hanako said.
"Precisely!" Kodama replied.
"Well, whilst I am here." Hanako offered "Myself and my soldiers can try to help find these creatures?"
Kodama turned to Hanako.
"That would please me very much Hanako-Chan." He said with a satisfied smile, "But first, I think we should get to know each other a little more and show you around my city!" he gestured to the window at the city where the sun was starting to set, and Chicago was starting to light up.
Hanako cocked her head on one side.
"What do you propose?" she asked standing up from her chair and leaning on the desk.
Kodama turned to Hanako.
"I can suggest a few things." He spoke.
Back in Mutopia, Pandora lay in her bed staring at the ceiling, for a while she had been wide awake.
For the last couple of days, from when her mother had been awoken from her coma, apart from seeing her in the medical bay, as well as checking in on Kemeko, she had been finding it difficult to relax, despite all the training she had done in the dojo as well as cardio exercises.
The other thing that was bothering her was when Sonia, Freya and Loki kept asking to see if she was okay, and she hated it that they kept prodding at her.
In fact, it was yesterday she had really blown her top at them.
Flashback
It was just after dinner and Pandora decided to go into the Dojo as she was still feeling tense.
It hadn't been long after she had received the news that her mother was finally awake from her induced coma, and many had believed that she would be happy, even Pandora herself wondered why she still felt sad and angry.
It was still difficult to see her father still mute and struggling to speak and even Michelangelo was worried and didn't joke or laugh like he would do, and Pandora was finding it so hard that things just weren't as they were supposed to be.
Standing in the middle of the Dojo, Pandora swung Mr Swinger around, bouncing him off her ankles, wrists, elbows, and knees and even her neck, imagining she was fighting the Foot Ninjas who destroyed everything she held dear, she wished she had killed more ninja or better yet, stopped Black Mamba and Hanako before they hurt her parents.
As she was training, she was unaware that Sonia and the Geckolings had followed her into the dojo and were watching her.
Sonia sighed and looked at the Geckolings.
"I can't tell you how worried I am." She said, "This isn't the Pandora we know, it's like she's changed."
"Tell me about it," Freya agreed.
"I don't like it at all." Loki said, "She doesn't seem to want to join in with us, even though she has, her hearts not there anymore."
Sonia shook her head.
"Well, we can't force her to not feel this way Trickster." She said, "All we can do is give her support and be there for her."
As she spoke to the Geckolings, Pandora turned around and she saw her cousins standing there.
"Sonia!?" she cried.
The Chameleon jumped a little turning yellow in surprise, but her colour soon returned to its green colour.
"Sorry Pandora." She said, "But the twins and I were concerned about you."
"What?" Pandora asked, "I'm fine!"
"Yeah right!" Loki thought and Freya frowned.
Sonia walked into the dojo.
"I'm sorry Pandora, but we are finding it hard to believe."
Pandora glared.
"It doesn't take a genius Pandora!" Freya said, "We've seen how you've been ever since you arrived in Mutopia."
"Then why are you here asking me stupid questions when you can see clearly how I feel?" Pandora demanded.
The twins winced slightly.
"Hey! No need for that!" Loki cried "We just want to help!"
Pandora glared at Loki.
"Help?!" she asked as she threw Mr Swinger forward towards one of the wooden posts before withdrawing it back to her.
"How can you help?"
"We're your friends Pandora!" Sonia said, "And your cousins!"
Pandora took a breath, and she caught the ball of Mr Swinger before turning to Sonia.
"Yeah!" Freya cut in "You're so angry, and despite mom's help, you don't seem to be letting her in."
Pandora scowled.
"So, you've been listening in on your mum's conversations with me?" she demanded.
"No! No!" Freya said quickly "We've spoken about our worries to her about you!"
"Yeah!" Loki agreed.
"We're worried about you Pandora!" Sonia said, "We don't blame you for the way you feel, we only know too well!"
"How could you possibly know!?" Pandora spat without thinking and Freya and Loki both looked shocked at her words.
"How could you know how I feel!?" the Hybrid asked again, her eyes blazing.
Loki glared and before he could stop himself, he snarled at Pandora, giving her the same threatening look almost like that of his father.
"Don't you dare say that!" he barked pointing a clawed finger at the hybrid "You're not the one that had to watch Vulstrun all but tear you apart two years ago! We had our mother nearly murdered right in front of us! So don't you fucking dare say that we don't know how you feel, because Freya and I do!"
"He's right!" Freya agreed and Sonia nodded.
"At least you had the well!" Pandora spat "It saved your mother didn't it!? My parents, Uncles, Grandfather, Kemeko and myself don't have that privilege!" Tears formed in Pandora's eyes "Mum, Dad, Uncle Don and Kemeko were lucky to survive because of your dad's ability to see what had happened, and because James and Dahlia acted quickly! But it couldn't have been worse!"
Sonia opened her mouth, but she hesitated as she knew the hybrid had a point, but it didn't excuse what she had said to the twins.
"That's not the point!" Freya shouted standing close to her brother, the same anger fueling her body and her red eyes flashing.
"Were you tortured!?" Pandora then screamed "Were you experimented on?!"
The twins were shocked as was Sonia, but Freya spoke up again.
"It was torture to have to watch you get hurt by Vulstrun. But that's not what this is all about, now is it? No, it's all about you! You were tortured, experimented on, had to watch your family get hurt, and you couldn't do anything about it! That's what's killing you, isn't it?! That you couldn't stop it!"
Pandora blinked as Freya's words hit her like a ton of bricks.
What the half dragon half gecko said was true.
She had witnessed what no-one should witness or go through, being tortured, and made to watch her family get hurt, and she hadn't been able to stop it.
She stood there silent for a moment as tears fell from her eyes.
Sonia walked up to touch Pandora's shoulder, but the hybrid moved away.
"it's true, isn't it?" Freya asked.
Pandora looked at the twins as her heart caught in her throat, she wanted to say yes, but she couldn't bring herself to speak, almost like she was too stubborn to admit it.
Shaking her head, the Hybrid walked out of the dojo, hiding her face with was turning red and the tears then fell.
The twins and Sonia watched her go.
"Pandora! Wait!" Loki cried.
"Don't go off like that!" Freya shouted.
"Leave her guys!" Sonia said, "You know what she's like." She looked over at Freya "I think you hit a nerve there Freya, but it's got to be up to Pandora if she wants to admit it or not, your mum did say you can't force anything out of her if she doesn't want to talk."
The twins looked at Sonia then to where Pandora was walking off and sighed sadly.
End Flashback.
Pandora rolled onto her side and looked at the wall.
She felt bad that she had spoken to her cousins so harshly, but she felt too ashamed to tell them at the time.
Finally unable to relax, Pandora threw the duvet cover off her bed and got out before turning on her side lamp and going over to her chest of drawers.
Her small clock on the wall showed it to be six-thirty in the evening and she knew it was about to get dark topside.
Opening her drawers, she found some clothes, some she had left here before, along with some hand downs from Sonia, as well as some clothes Tania had made recently.
She got dressed into a black jumpsuit, one she often used when training, and she also found some black cargo pants and a black hoodie.
She then picked up her weapons and leaving her room, she looked around the residential area.
It was deathly quiet, not surprising as it was still early, and it was Sunday and most of the residents took the advantage of having a longer time in bed, apart from some who would be up early to work such as Louie the Chef and Cam and Barry who often went to scavage on the surface.
Pandora left her bedroom and started to walk towards the entrance of the sanctuary pulling the hoodie over her head, yet she crept quietly and stealthily.
Before long she made it, and the doors were sealed.
She also saw the cameras surrounding the area, yet in her stealth training, she knew the positions of the cameras and how to stay in the blind spots.
She also knew the passwords used this week as she had overheard Cam and Barry exchanging the words with Hacker before they went topside.
Since the incident with Diablo nearly ten years ago, Mutopia had been updating the passwords and codes each week to make sure the Sanctuary stayed forever hidden.
She quickly typed in the code and the doors opened, then quick as a flash and keeping to the shadows, the young hybrid ran into the dark tunnel to reach the surface.
Hanako has studied the photo evidence, and Kodama has proposed a few ways to bond and discuss business.
Meanwhile, Pandora's still feeling angry and restless, so much so she's snapped at her cousins and close friends, and now she's left the sanctuary!
What will progress from here? Well, tune in to find out!