- Chapter 16 -

Panic in the Sewers

It was a dark and foggy night. The Hamato siblings and Kagome stealthily patrolled the city, before getting behind a dumpster.

"Stay frosty, guys," Leo insisted. "Shredder could be anywhere."

"You getting anything, sis?" Vee asked Hisako.

Hisako closed her eyes, sensing around before shaking her head. "Nope. I'm coming up empty."

"Where could he be?" Donnie wondered aloud.

"Here," came the ominous voice of the Shredder.

They all jumped in shock as Shredder appeared out of nowhere. He yanked Mikey into the shadows, leaving only his nunchuks behind. The orange turtle didn't even have a chance to yelp in surprise.

"MIKEY!" everyone screamed in horror.

Shredder reappeared and Donnie charged at him. Shredder easily caught his staff, snapped it, and then slammed him face first into a wall. Donnie collapsed into a heap, his head bleeding profusely.

"You bastard!" Vee shouted, charging at Shredder with her kama raised.

Shredder effortlessly caught her and broke her arm with a simple twist before tossing her aside. Hisako tried her luck next, leaping into the air only to find herself impaled in mid-air on Shredder's claws. She gasped and twitched for a moment before going limp, upon which Shredder jerked his blades out and shoved her to the side.

"NO!" Kagome screamed.

She slashed at Shredder in a rage, and then he slashed his blade. Blood dribbled out of Kagome's mouth before she looked down, noticing that her stomach had been cut clean open.

"Kagome!" Raph screamed as Kagome crumbled to the ground. "You... YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

He charged at Shredder, but he too was overpowered. Shredder unloaded a round of damaging punches into Raph's chest before kicking him off to the side, leaving only Leo standing. The blue-banded turtle held up his swords, the blades shaking as he looked around at his dead siblings.

"Do you truly think you're ready to face me?" Shredder mocked.

He stalked towards Leo, scraping his claw along the alley wall before darting forward, swiping across Leo's throat. Leo collapsed, gurgling and choking on his own blood. He fell before Shredder, who looked up to the sky, his eyes glowing bright red as he laughed evilly.

"Hamato Yoshi. Kasumi Lee., he declared. "I have taken the lives of your disciples, your children. And you will be next!"

-X-

"NO!"

At that very moment, Splinter and Kasumi bolted upright in their beds, Kasumi on her own bed in the Lee household, and Splinter from the couch in the TV room. They were on their feet immediately, running to the rooms where their children were sleeping.

Kasumi threw the door of Kagome's room open, and sighed in relief to see Kagome sleeping peacefully in her bed, Vee and Hisako in sleeping bags next to it. Splinter threw open the door to the guest room open, letting out a relieved sigh to see his sons piled onto the bed, the blankets strewn all over.

Shortly after, the two met up in the kitchen, realizing that they had experienced precisely the same nightmare.

"Yoshi..." Kasumi said softly, "you had that dream too, didn't you?"

Splinter nodded. "Venus and Hisako? Were they-?"

"They're fine, and so is Kagome," Kasumi assured him. "The other Turtles?"

"Asleep."

Kasumi sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I'm going to make us some tea."

She did so, and both sat at the kitchen table, sipping at their cups.

"Oh God, Yoshi..." Kasumi whispered, tears in her eyes. "What if-"

"No," Splinter said firmly, getting her attention. "He took my family from me once before." His hands tightened around his teacup. "Never... Never. Again."

The two nodded at one another, both thinking the same thing.

-X-

A few hours later, everyone was startled awake by the sound of Kasumi loudly banging on a pot with a wooden spoon.

"Rise and shine!" she shouted.

"Ugh, Mom?" Kagome yawned, looking at her alarm clock. "It's five in the morning."

"What's with the wake-up call?" Vee asked.

"Don't ask me..." Hisako replied. "Too tired to think."

Kasumi forced them to get dressed and escorted them out to the backyard, where the other four Turtles had been led by Splinter.

"The last time you faced the Shredder, you barely escaped with your lives!" Splinter declared.

"And next time, we'll be ready," Raph yawned.

"Exactly," Kasumi said firmly. "And you're staying where we can keep an eye on you seven until you are ready. No patrolling, no games, no rest. Nothing but training, starting right now."

"Awwww..." all seven teens groaned in discontent.

Over the next several weeks, Splinter and Kasumi forced the Hamato siblings and Kagome to train far harder than they ever had before, running them ragged. The seven were seriously starting to feel the effect, and after one of these brutal sessions, they were all standing in the dojo feeling completely wiped out.

"Okay..." Vee wheezed. "I can't feel my... anything."

"I'm so tired, I can't even think about thinking," Hisako groaned.

"Keep going!" Splinter ordered. "We will practice all night if we have to!"

"We have been practicing all night!" Leo whined.

"And every day for the past month!" Raph added.

"Please, let us rest!" Mikey pleaded.

"Rest? You don't seem to understand." Kasumi loomed over all of them as she went on. "The Shredder is out there, looking for us. There's no reasoning with him. No bargaining with him. He knows nothing of pity, remorse, or fear. And he absolutely will not rest or stop, ever... until all of you are dead!"

"And if he doesn't kill us, this non-stop training will!" Vee pointed out. "You're running us ragged!"

"Mom, please..." Kagome begged. "I'm begging you, we need a break."

At that moment, Mikey passed out, his head on Hisako's shoulder. Seeing that, Splinter and Kasumi gave in.

"Perhaps a brief rest is in order," Splinter conceded. "We will resume later."

The two walked out of the dojo, and all seven teens promptly collapsed.

"There is a God," Donnie sighed.

"Agree to disagree, Don..." Hisako mumbled as she rolled onto her back.

-X-

The gang lay strewn about the lair, grateful for the moment of respite. As they rested, Hisako used the opportunity to focus on Splinter and Kasumi's minds, determined to find out why the two had been working them like dogs. She managed to get into their heads, discovering the memory of their nightmare. She sat upright upon seeing the dream in its entirety, gasping.

"No wonder..." she said aloud.

"What's up?" Leo asked, turning to her.

"They had a bad dream, where Shredder killed us. They're scared."

"Well, it certainly explains why they're running us into the ground like oxen in the fields," Donnie remarked.

Vee sighed. "I don't know about you guys, but I cannot take any more of this." She grabbed handfuls of her hair, tugging on it. "Weeks of non-stop training! Barely any sleep in between! I'm losing my freaking mind!"

Leo promptly slapped her across the face and her hands moved into an automatic defensive position. Her eyes narrowed at her brother.

"Did you just slap me?" she asked.

"Yes, I did," Leo replied. "We all need to cool off."

"I can help with that!" Mikey declared.

Without warning, a water balloon hit Vee in the face.

"Aw, no," Raph groaned. "Not this again."

"Here's one for you too!" Mikey shouted as he hit Raph with another one.

Shaking with anger, Raph turned to Spike, who was on the counter munching on lettuce.

"Spike..." he spoke up, "chew your leaf if you want me to kick Mikey's ass."

Spike did so, and Raph whirled on Mikey. "C'mere, you!"

He tackled Mikey, and the two ended up in a fist-fight behind the couch.

"How do those two even have the energy to fight?" Hisako asked.

Donnie shrugged. "Well, while they're beating each other senseless, I might as well get back to work on my latest project."

"You mean that old go-kart?" Kagome asked.

"It's not a go-kart," Donnie replied. "It's an all-terrain Patrol Buggy with detachable sidecars."

"Go-kart," Hisako said flatly.

Donnie just rolled his eyes. Raph dropped a dazed Mikey, who picked himself back up.

"Dude, haven't Splinter and Kasumi been riding us hard enough?" the orange turtle questioned. "You gotta find a way to relax."

"We all deal with stress in different ways, Mikey," Leo pointed out.

"Yeah. And this is how I deal," Donnie added.

"And this is how I deal," Mikey smirked before pelting Donnie with another water balloon.

In a rage, Donnie chased Mikey around the lair.

"You're next, Leo!" Mikey shouted as he ran for his life. "Dr. Prankenstein makes house calls!"

As this was going on, Kagome turned to Hisako.

"How come he hasn't tried to hit you yet?" she asked.

"Because the last time he threw a water balloon at me, I sent it right back at him," Hisako answered.

"Ah," Kagome nodded before turning back to watch the chase.

Elsewhere, April and Casey were meeting up outside the 2nd Time Around.

"What have you got?" April asked.

"Remember that Xever guy who runs with those Foot ninja you and Kagome have been talking about?" Casey answered. "Some of the goons I've beaten up mentioned him. He has connections with the Purple Dragons."

"Then, that means the Purple Dragons are in league with the Foot."

"Seems that way." Casey looked in both directions before leaning in. "And between you and me, that's a bad combo."

"Agreed." April pulled a small gadget out of her pocket. "Donnie gave me this bug a few days ago. I'm gonna plant it in their hideout."

"That turtle has the hots for you," Casey suddenly blurted out. "You know that, right?"

April blushed. "Yeah… It's pretty obvious."

"Doesn't that weird you out? I mean, don't get me wrong. The Turtles are swell guys, and Donnie's got some killer ideas. But... they're turtles."

April shrugged. "Donnie's a nice guy, and he's not hurting anybody with this little crush. For now, let's work out how to slip this bug into their hideout."

"How about I draw them out while you sneak in?" Casey asked, slipping his mask on. "After all... I'm on their most wanted list."

"Alright," April conceded. "Just... be careful."

"Hey, it's me, remember?" Casey pointed out.

"Why do you think I'm saying it?" April retorted.

-X-

They made their way to an old building, which Casey confirmed was the Purple Dragons' hideout. Giving April a thumbs up as she slipped behind a group of garbage cans, Casey slapped a hockey puck at the door. The door opened, revealing Dragon Face, who gaped at the sight of Casey just outside.

Smirking behind his mask, Casey raised his right hand, propping up his middle finger and making mocking kissing noises at the thug before turning and running away.

"The hockey masked punk!" Dragon Face shouted. "After him!"

The Dragons all spilled out of the hideout and pursued Casey en masse. As soon as they were gone, April peeked out from her hiding place.

"Be careful, Casey," she said to herself, slipping into the hideout.

She searched around, before finding a place where the bug was unlikely to be found and planting it. She quickly slipped back out, making her way back to the 2nd Time Around. Not long after, Casey came bolting into the store, panting heavily.

"Wasn't easy, but I gave 'em the slip," he managed, stopping to catch his breath. "Did it work?

April pulled out her cell phone, opening up an app labeled 'teenspy' and pressing a key.

"Damn it, he got away again," Dragon Face cursed over the line. "How am I gonna face Hun after all these screw-ups?"

"Bingo," April smirked.

Casey, however, was scowling at the mention of that man.

"Hun's back in town?" he growled.

"You know him?" April asked.

"He's the one who set fire to my dad's store that day," Casey replied, his fists clenching. "I've got a score to settle with that son of a bitch."

"How bad is he?" questioned April.

"Lou Ferrigno on steroids."

April hissed at that. "That's really bad..."

Down in the lair, the Hamato siblings and Kagome were back in the dojo, Leo standing before the other six. Leo raised his hands over his head, like a bear on the attack.

"Hōkō no Kamae! (1)" he declared.

The others mimicked the stance, save Raph, who stood with his arms crossed.

"Raph!" Leo snapped. "Hōkō no Kamae!"

"Hōkō no way," Raph shot back. "It's bad enough that Dad and Kasumi are working us to death. Now you're in on it?"

"I'm with Raph on this one," Vee cut in. "Why are you enabling their craziness?"

"Because they're right," Leo replied. "Right now, we don't stand a snowball's chance in hell against the Shredder."

"And this isn't helping!" Hisako snapped. "Haven't you realized that yet?!"

"We've been jumping through hoops like trained seals for over a month!" Kagome shouted. "At this rate, we're gonna drop dead from exhaustion long before Shredder ever comes close to killing us!"

In the dining room, Splinter and Kasumi were having tea and just happened to overhear the entire conversation. Kasumi sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Yoshi, I hate to say it, but they're right," she admitted. "We have been pushing them too hard."

"What else can we do, Kasumi?" Splinter asked. "They are not prepared for what is out there."

"I know. But running them ragged like this isn't helping, either."

Splinter sighed. "Then what do we do?"

"Well, I can tell you that hiding down here forever isn't an option," came April's voice.

Splinter and Kasumi turned to see her standing there, holding up her phone.

"April?" Kasumi asked. "Weren't you on a recon assignment with Casey."

"Yeah," April replied. "I bugged the Purple Dragons' hideout. Get the others. They need to hear this."

-X-

Later, everyone was gathered around as April played back the recording.

"We're meeting with Master Shredder tonight," came an unfamiliar voice. "He has a plan to destroy the Turtles."

"How?" Dragon Face asked. "He doesn't even know where they are."

"We know they're in the sewers somewhere," The first man said. "And that's all we need to know to wipe them out."

Vee gulped nervously. "I... don't like the sound of that."

"What else do we know?" Donnie asked.

"Nothing," April replied. "That's all I was able to get."

Leo turned to Kasumi and Splinter.

"Dad, Kasumi…" he began. "I know you said we weren't ready, but we have no choice. We have to go topside and stop whatever they're planning."

"Our home is in danger!" Donnie exclaimed.

"And if we don't do something..." Vee added.

"Then we won't have a home to defend," Raph concluded.

"Hisako read your guys' mind," Kagome included. "We know about the nightmare. But we can't let our fear hold us back."

"Isn't that what you taught me?" Hisako asked. "To not let my fear of the future prevent me from enjoying the present?"

"With all due respect, Sensei, maybe you should take your own advice," Mikey remarked.

Splinter sighed, rubbing his nose. "Yes. You're right."

Leo turned to Donnie. "Are those go-karts ready?"

"Patrol Buggies," Donnie corrected. "And yes, they are."

"Good," Leo said with a nod. "Let's hit the streets, guys!"

Loaded into the Patrol Buggy, the group took to the streets, pulling up short when they saw a large tanker truck near a gutter, with multiple Purple Dragons nearby, including a large blonde man with two tattoos, one of the Foot's insignia, and the other the mark of the Purple Dragons.

"Who's the big ugly blonde guy?" Kagome asked.

"Hun..." Hisako replied, reading his mind. "The real boss of the Purple Dragons. And get this... apparently, he's Shredder's right hand."

"He is?" Raph questioned. "Huh. You'd think Bradford would be his right hand."

"Don't look at me," Hisako replied. "I just tell it like I read it."

From behind the tanker emerged the mutated Bradford and Gina.

"Are we on schedule?" Gina asked Hun.

"Yes," Hun replied. "Any second now, the chlorosulfonic acid will be ready for dumping."

Donnie gasped in horror. "So that's his plan!"

"What is?" Mikey asked.

"Chlorosulfonic acid reacts violently with water. If they dump it in the sewers, it'll all be incinerated in seconds!"

"Then we've got to stop it!" Raph declared.

At that moment, Bradford sniffed the air, catching wind of something.

"Uh-oh..." Mikey whimpered. "Dogpound's caught a whiff of us!" Everyone looked at him at that. "Y'know, 'cause he's a dog. And he's about to pound us."

"We get it," they all replied.

"Also, way to raise our morale, Mikey," Vee said flatly.

"We've got company," Dogpound informed the others.

Gina turned in their direction, seeing the Turtles and co. in the Patrol Buggy.

"It's them!" she shouted, pointing in their direction.

"Now Tokka, too!" Mikey declared, getting another look. "It was the first name that came to mind, okay?"

"Leo, what's the plan?" Kagome asked.

Before Leo could say anything, Dogpound grabbed a manhole cover and threw it at them like a discus.

"MOVE!" Leo shouted.

They all rolled out of the way, scrambling to their feet as the manhole cover embedded itself in the wall behind them.

"Leo?! The plan?!" Hisako demanded.

"I'm working on it, alright?!" Leo snapped.

"Well, work faster!" Donnie replied. "Because we've got big. Huge. PROBLEMS!"

Dogpound and Tokka charged at them as Donnie said so. Raph and Kagome jumped forward, clashing with Tokka.

"Let's see what you've got, you overgrown, ugly excuse for a turtle!" Raph shouted.

Tokka scowled. "It's thanks to you creatures I'm like this! Let me show you my gratitude!"

She slashed at them, leaving claw marks in the wall behind them.

"Hey, you and your boyfriend are the idiots who cracked open the mutagen bomb!" Kagome retorted. "Don't blame us for your own stupidity!"

"Yeah, we warned you!" Raph added.

Tokka roared and swung at them again, punching a hole in the ground where they were standing minutes before.

"Jeez," Raph remarked. "Some people just can't handle change."

Meanwhile, Leo and Mikey were dealing with Dogpound, dodging his massive fists.

"How can we take this guy, Leo?!" Mikey demanded. "He's too strong!"

"Yeah," Leo agreed as he dodged a punch from the mutant dog. "But he's slow!"

"Hold still, you reptilian pests!" Dogpound growled as he continued his assault.

"Instead of us holding still, how about you try harder?" Leo retorted.

At that time, Vee, Hisako, and Donnie were running for the tanker, only to be stopped by Hun.

"That's as far as you go," he said ominously.

Vee gulped as she looked over the tall, muscular man before him.

"You…" she began, "are very big."

"Are you even human?" Hisako asked.

Hun smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Why don't you stick around and find out?"

"No thanks," Donnie said, popping out the naginata blade in his staff.

He jabbed at Hun, only for Hun to catch the staff mid-swing and force the blade into the tanker, puncturing it and causing acid to leak out.

"Oh, shit!" Vee screamed.

"This is bad!" Hisako shouted. "If it hits the water, it's gonna- wait. Water!"

It hit her at that, and she turned to Mikey.

"Mikey!" she shouted, getting his attention. "Throw the water balloon at the tanker!"

"Uh..." Mikey let out innocently, "what water balloon?"

"The one you were gonna hit Leo with!" Hisako replied.

Mikey pulled a yellow water balloon out from behind his back.

"Dudette..." he said. "you are good."

"JUST THROW IT!" Hisako screamed.

Mikey flung the water balloon at the gushing acid. Vee, Hisako, and Donnie all scrambled for cover as the tanker exploded, knocking the Foot trio off their feet. Leo looked over at his brother.

"Nice shot, Mike-" He was cut off when Mikey lobbed another water balloon, hitting him squarely in the face.

"Yeah!" he cheered. "Dr. Prankenstein for the win!"

"Oh, did I forget to mention he had two?" Hisako giggled innocently. "Whoopsie."

Dogpound, Tokka, and Hun all pulled themselves up, glaring at them.

"You haven't seen the last of us, you freaks!" Hun shouted as they retreated.

"Guys..." Raph said in awe. "We won. We did it!"

They all cheered and hugged in exhilaration.

-X-

The teens made their way back down to the lair, where Splinter and Kasumi were waiting.

"Kids..." Kasumi began, "we owe you an apology."

"For what?" Leo asked.

"We have lost much because of the Shredder," Splinter explained. "It has taken us a long time to find peace afterwards, and the thought of him taking you from us..."

"The fear of it consumed us," Kasumi added.

"You were right," Splinter said. "We allowed our fear of the future to cloud our judgement."

"But you performed admirably, and we're so proud of all of you," Kasumi added with a smile. "No training today. You have the day off."

The kids all cheered in happiness and relief.

"That is..." Kasumi said suddenly, "if Michelangelo doesn't throw that balloon."

Sure enough, Mikey had another water balloon behind his back. The others whirled on him, glaring.

Mikey gulped. "Uh-oh."

The balloon was telekinetically yanked out of his hand, and hovered menacingly over his head. Hisako turned to Splinter.

"May I, Dad?" she asked.

Splinter nodded, and Hisako slammed the balloon down over Mikey's head, popping it and drenching him. The rest of the group laughed as Hisako crossed her arms triumphantly.

"Dr. Prankenstein has just been out-pranked," Hisako said with a smirk.

Uptown, Dogpound knelt before Shredder, having given him his latest report on failure. As he did, Hun and Tokka stood off to the side.

"They defeated you with a go-kart..." Shredder said incredulously, "and a water balloon?"

"Yes, it sounds absurd, but-" Tokka began.

"It will not happen again, Master," Dogpound swore. "I promise you."

With lightning speed, Shredder slashed at Dogpound, chopping off the tip of the bone spike protruding from his left shoulder. Dogpound yelped in pain.

"See that it doesn't," Shredder warned, before sitting down in his throne.

The mutants quickly took their leave, Hun right behind them. Shredder watched them go, sighing darkly.

"My men have failed time and time again," he mused. "It seems I will have to call in more aid..."

Author's Note:

(1): "Angry bear posture", from what I read online.

Another one down. Yay.

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Hun - Christopher Sabat (Vegeta, Yamcha, & Piccolo from Dragon Ball, Elfman Strauss from Fairy Tail, Alex Armstrong from Fullmetal Alchemist, Dr. Watts from RWBY, Kazuma Kuwabara from Yu Yu Hakusho, Rundas in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Roronoa Zoro from One Piece)

Please R&R. Until next time!