Swallowing thickly, my eyes flicker from left to right as more Fist Ninjas emerge from the shadows. The sea of maroon parts just enough for Hun and Tiger Claw to enter the ring, smug looks on their faces as they watch the four of us. Casey moves slightly in front of Sensei, April, and I, a scowl on his face as April lowers her cellphone from her ear.
Sensei's hold on me tightens as his tail swishes agitatedly as Hun walks forward and I shrink back when Hun's eyes land on me, a dark gleam in his eyes. So much for not letting people know about me being the size of a child.
"What have you done to my sons?" Sensei growls, twisting his body so that I'm no longer in Hun's line of sight.
"Let us just say that some of our 'friends' are keeping them company right now," Tiger Claw answers, grinning so that all of his canines gleam in the moonlight.
My fingers ache as I clutch at Sensei's robe. So, my brothers are currently fighting against their own Fist Ninjas, are they? No wonder Donnie never answered April's call. Shell, I knew that my bros were gonna get in trouble without me! Why don't they ever listen to me? Dudes, just come home safe… Biting my bottom lip, I glance up at the skyline, half expecting to see my brothers on the rooftop fighting.
ROAR!
I jump as a large figure leaps across from April's roof, landing heavily in the space behind Hun and his ninjas. Heavy breathing and a snarl causes the group to turn around. The warmth in my chest already tells me exactly who that is even without the familiar roaring echoing around us. The U.P. lumbers out of the shadow, his gold eyes tinted red
Hun cracks his knuckles before pulling out a long, metal chigiriki.
"Well, it looks like everyone is here for the party now. Your plan is working far better than I thought it would," Hun states, rolling his shoulders. Tiger Claw pulls out a small gun, chuckling darkly.
"Of course, it is working. I'M the one who came up with it." Tiger Claw twirls his gun. "Just stick to the plan and we won't have any problems."
Plan? PLAN? They planned this?! How on earth did they even know that Sensei and I would be here? A sick pit falls into my stomach as Hun turns back toward us but Tiger Claw remains facing the U.P.
"Plan?" April echoes back, hands clenching into fists at her sides. "How could have planned this?"
Hun snorts, easily twirling the chigiriki as he takes another step forward.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Hun sneers, tilting his head back as if pointing at the U.P. "All we had to do was watch the walking tin can back there to know when the orange freak was out and about." Hun's sneer morphs into a smirk and I glare at him as he leers at me. "But to think that the little freak somehow turned himself in a child is just too good to pass up."
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I glance up at Chichi.
"Sensei, what are we gonna do?" I whisper, nerves dancing throughout my body. "I can't fight like this."
Master Splinter rearranges his grip on me, situating his staff in his left hand.
"And you will not fight like this," Sensei states sternly. "No matter what happens, keeping you out of these fiends' clutches is our top priority, understand? So, if I tell you to run, you will do so. No questions, no hesitation. Am I clear?"
My heart leaps into my throat as my stomach falls out beneath me. This isn't fair. I should be able to help protect my family too. I shouldn't have to run away just because my stupid body rebelled or whatever and my chi turned me into a five-year-old!
"Michelangelo."
My focus snaps back to Master Splinter and my shoulders sag at the hard stare that my father is giving me. His eyes are hard and steely and there is an air of danger hanging around his aura that I only ever feel when he needs to protect us.
"Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes, Sensei. I understand." Not that it makes me feel any better about this plan.
"Good," Sensei states, nodding and turning to April. "Ms. O'Neal, I want you to take Michelangelo while Mr. Jones and I hold Tiger Claw and his ninjas off. In the meantime, continue trying to contact my three oldest. I know that they can handle themselves but I do not know if they understand what all is transpiring here."
April nods, a look of determination hardening her features as I'm passed off. My anxiety spikes a little now that I'm no longer in my father's hold but once April has her arms around me, I relax a little. It's not that I don't trust April to protect me, but Sensei has always been a sense of protection for me and right now, surrounded by so many enemies in such a weak body, I mentally need that sense of protection to stay calm.
But it's gonna be fine, I think, the pendant clutched tightly in my hand as April hugs me to her firmly. Sensei and Casey are gonna kick the Fists' shell and the U.P. is gonna beat the snot out of Tiger Claw. It's gonna be just fine. And then my bros are gonna appear with Leo being all like "I've got a plan!" and Raph's gonna be like "Screw the plan, lets kick some major shell!" and Donnie's gonna be like "I've got an invention that can help!" and everything is going to be fine. Just… Fine…
"Shh, Mikey, shh."
I jolt when April whispers to me, rubbing my shell gently. It takes me a moment to realize that I'm trembling. Dragging in a quick, deep breath, I release it slowly and pat April's shoulder.
"I'm good. I'm okay."
April leans back slightly, an unconvinced frown on her face but she doesn't say anything as I offer her a crooked smile.
Hun chuckles darkly as he motions for his ninjas to start moving closer.
"Oh, but you won't be when we get our hands on you, freak. But we might go easy on you if you just come quietly."
"Like we're gonna just hand him over ta ya, Hun," Casey snarls, pulling out a collapsible baton from his pocket and snaps it open. "Because ya got another thing comin' if ya think yer gonna even lay a finger on 'im."
"We'll see about that, Jones," Hun states darkly before glancing at his minions. "Bring me that turtle freak."
Instantly, the Fist ninjas spring forward, weapons drawn. At the same time, U.P. releases a loud roar just as Tiger Claw fires three rounds at him. Sensei easily deflects three Fist Ninjas, knocking them out with one swipe and the sickening CRUNCH of Casey's baton and fists breaking some noses fills the air. April cautiously moves backwards, dodge to the right as two Fist Ninjas attempt to land on top of her.
"Not today, creeps," April growls, snapping her leg out and kicking one ninja into another as they try to grab at her. However, four more ninjas appear in their place, katanas and ninjatos at the ready.
Frantically, I glance around and pat April on the shoulder when I spot an opening, pointing.
"April! Head that way!"
"Right, hang on," April says, spinning on her heels and rushing toward the only opening in the sea of ninjas.
My arms cling around her neck as she moves, dodging and weaving as ninja after ninja attempt to slow her down. Master Splinter from time to time will jump in, kick ninjas away from us or even into ones that get too close before hurrying onto the next batch of ninjas. As he kicks two ninjas into a small group that just jumped in front of April and I, my eyes brighten when I notice that there is a small alleyway that April and I would be just small enough to fit through. We just gotta reach it!
Four more steps…!
"AH!"
My world tilts when April suddenly cries out and the two of us hit the ground. I retract into my shell as I bounce out of her grasp, spinning as I come to a stop.
"Don't think I'd just let the two of ya just walk away from me."
I quickly emerge from my shell, heart pounding in my chest as I spot Hun holding a chain with one end wrapped around his massive arm and the other caught on April's ankle. Panic courses through my veins as I scramble to my feet.
"April!" I cry out as Hun starts lumbering toward my fallen friend.
"Mikey, get out of here," April orders, green eyes flashing with determination. "We'll be fine. Just go!"
A sick pit clutches at my stomach as I pause mid-step, torn between helping my friend and listening to her. April instantly starts struggling to kick the chain off.
"Mikey, please! Run!" She pleads as Hun creeps closer. Casey, luckily comes flying in with his baton, smacking and kicking at the behemoth of a man, knocking him away from our fallen friend.
The pendant in my hand releases a sad note, sounding almost distorted in the mayhem around us. At the same time, the U.P. roars loudly and I hear the sound of falling bodies of ninjas being thrown. Hun pauses and glances back over his shoulder when Tiger Claw shouts orders as he jetpacks around the U.P.'s head.
"Michelangelo! Run!"
At Sensei's order, my body automatically jerks into motion, taking a step back. However, the moment that I move, U.P.'s head snaps in my direction. Ice rushes over my body as the ancient armor starts to lumber forward, shoving ninjas out of the way with hard intent in his eyes. Squeaking, my body shakes out of whatever stupor I fell into there and I turn around to rush down the thin alleyway. Only for my path to be blocked by three Fist Ninjas dropping down, all three with their hands outstretched as if to grab me.
My eyes narrow as I step back.
"Don't even think about it, dude. You touch me and you'll be in a world of hurt. Raphie may not bite, but I sure do."
The Fist Ninjas ignore me and continue forward. I hold the pendant close to my chest, mind frantically thinking through all the options that I have with no weapons and my chi out of order right now.
"Stay away from my son!"
My eyes widen as a shadow flies above me and Master Splinter lands between me and the Fist Ninjas. Twirling his staff, Master Splinter smacks one ninja in the gut, the other in the chest, and striking the last one directly on the skull. He briefly glances back at me but four more ninjas drop down, redirecting Sensei's attention.
Relief courses through me for a moment. Chichi always being there when I need him.
"Michelangelo, I told you to flee!" Sensei snaps, breaking me from my thoughts as he rapidly spins his staff just like Donnie does with his bo staff. Knowing that Sensei has this, I try edging around the fight only to freeze when my 'Turtle Senses' tingle. Twisting around, the air catches in my throat as the U.P. towers over me, his large shadow encompassing me.
"U-Uh, h-h-hey there, bud. Long time n-n-no see," I squeak out, shrinking into my shell as red-tinted gold eyes study me, moving closer and smacking at any ninja that gets too close.
After a second of silence, (which is pretty creepy with just the sound of smacking flesh and crunching bones), the U.P. snarls and lunges for me. A scream rips from me as I duck under the grabbing hands, vaguely aware of Sensei and April crying out for me as I weave through the scrambling bodies. My heart pounds as I narrowly miss being grabbed by both the U.P. and a Fist Ninja, who U.P. decides to backhand away as a result.
"Do not touch my Kyūkyoku no buki!" Ultimate Protector growls.
"How about none of you touch me and we all just go about our lives?" I whimper back as I slide through a pair of maroon legs. And I just barely manage to jump away from another set of maroon hands snatching at me. Throwing looks over my shoulder, I duck under another set of hands before crying out when a pair a large, paw-like hands snatch me up into the air. The U.P. bellows below, throwing some unfortunate Fist Ninjas left and right in his rage.
"I do not think that will be an option for you, little one," Tiger Claw says, chuckling darkly as he lifts me up to eyelevel. My eyes widen as I gulp, kicking and twisting as I try to keep the pendant out of sight. Tiger Claw lifts an eye ridge, lips curling into a smirk, holding me by my shell. "You have spark, little one, but it is futile to try and escape. Unless you think that you can survive a fall from this height in this form."
Panting, I pause in my struggling to glance down. My eyes nearly bug out of my head when I realize that the two of us are two stories up, just a little above April's roof. My stomach swoops and I whimper, curling into myself as the assassin grins.
"That is what I thought," Tiger Claw states smugly, tucking me under his arm. "Hun! I have what we came for."
"Mikey!"
"Michelangelo!"
"NO!" Sensei cries out as he, April, and Casey rush to stand below us, just barely missing the swinging arms of the U.P. as he continues his raging fit. "Tiger Claw! Give me my son! Ima sugu musuko o kaeshite kudasai!"*
Tiger Claw laughs, holding me out for Sensei to see.
"Hamato Yoshi, imadekirukoto wa nani mo arimasen. Anata no musuko wa, kare ga nozonde iru ka dō ka ni kakawarazu, watashitachi to issho ni kurudeshou. Soshite kare no tasuke o karite, watashitachiha saishūtekini watashitachi no kyūkyoku no mokuhyō o tassei surudeshou,"*Tiger Claw replies back, shaking me a little. "The Kyūkyoku no buki and Kyūkyoku no purotekutāwill be ours and our master shall return to us once more."
Master Splinter snarls, his ears flattening against his head.
"Ko nashi! Watashi no musuko o watashi ni kaeshite kudasai! Kare wa anata ga tsukau taishōde wa arimasen!"*
My mouth falls open as I recognize at least a few words of my father's enraged shouting. This being the first time I have ever heard my father say a curse word in any language. Sensei frowns upon cursing and for him to be using such language tells me more about my father's state than any of his actions.
Tiger Claw laughs, shaking me as if to taunt Sensei.
"We shall see about that. Hun, I believe it is time that we take our leave." Tiger Claw swings around and holds me out for U.P. to see. "Creature! You want your Kyūkyoku no buki back, safe and sound? Then try and catch us."
"Wait! Sensei!" I cry out as Tiger Claw tucks me under his arm once more, my eyes burning from fear as the two of us jet away. The U.P. roars ring out in the night air and my mouth dries as he leaps straight into the air, landing hard on one of the apartments nearby. Then my eyes get drawn to other movement heading in our direction.
My mouth dries as I recognize the three running figures, each with their own confused and horrified expressions as Tiger Claw and I zip by. I gasp.
"Leo?"
On instinct, I reach a hand out as time slows down as we speed by my battered brothers. Leo slides to a stop as me and my capture continue forward.
"Mikey? MIKEY!"
I barely catch Leo's voice as we pass, his arm reaching out as if to try and grab for me. Tiger Claw laughs as my brothers' screams mix with the U.P.'s roars and the three of them scramble after us, narrowly missing being crushed by the raging armor.
"Let them try and catch us, little cub," Tiger Claw says, laughing. "We will be so far out of their reach soon, that they will have no choice but to turn back."
I glare up at the flying tiger mutant, hoping that it's far more intimidating than it feels.
"Leo is one of the best trackers ever! Taught by the Ancient One himself! And when he finds us, he, and my other bros, are gonna kick your tail so hard that you'll be seeing stars!"
Tiger Claw snorts, his eyes gleaming as he glances at me.
"We shall see about that, little cub. They still need to find us first."
My lips thin as I glance back behind us, another slightly faint roar echoing around us. I really doubt that my brothers and father are going to have a hard time finding us if the U.P. is following us. Kinda hard to miss a huge suit of armor booking it in one single direction. A suit of armor that can track me all the way from the other side of the town. I keep my mouth shut (surprising, right?), not wanting to let Tiger Claw know that little tidbit of information as we continue flying through the chilly night air. However, I'm not above being a little brat. Because, well, I'm cold, I'm scared, I'm hungry, and I hate being this small.
"Are we at your secret base yet?"
Tiger Claw narrows his eyes at me. I stare back, eyes wide and innocent, blinking for added effect. Huffing, Tiger Claw quickly averts his eyes, a look of discomfort on his face.
"No, little cub. We are not."
"Then how much further do we have to go?" I ask, putting as much whine into my voice as possible. "'Cause I'm cold and you should know that turtles shouldn't be allowed to get too cold. We might go into brumation and then I'd very really useless to you until I wake up and again. And boy, would that be a mess because, well, I've eaten today and Donnie says that falling into brumation after eating isn't a good idea. We need to go into brumation without anything in our tummies otherwise we can get really really sick and I don't know about you but I'm not really good with puke because that's just gross and it burns when it comes up. Have you ever vomited so hard that it comes up through your nose? It freaking burns, dude. And dude, that smell. ICK! It smells worse than Raph did when he fell into that dumpster after the building we were on exploded. Have you ever been on a building that's exploded? It's soooooo not fun. A piece of that building jumped out and attacked me. Hurt my ankle really bad. So bad that Donnie stole this lady's stockings from this bathroom we snuck into so that we could wrap my ankle. And like, we're ninjas dude, so we were super quiet, but this kid got up to use the bathroom and caught us. Donnie tried to tell him to be quiet but, well, I guess seeing two teenage mutant ninja turtles in your bathroom can be quite disconcerting. But like, when Leo got caught by this little girl, she had no problems with him. She even forced him to have tea with her! I would have paid good money to have footage of that! I've tried so hard to get Leo to have a tea party with me and he never would! But this random little girl gets him to do so and it's just not fair. I mean, I'm his little brother. You'd think that he'd be more than-"
"ENOUGH!"
I blink up at Tiger Claw as he shouts while landing on the roof of a building. I swallow thickly as Tiger Claw lifts me up by under the arms, holding me up so that our snouts are almost touching and I swear that his eyepatch is twitching angrily as he glares at me.
"Speak another word, little cub, and we shall see just how hard that shell of yours truly is against my claws. Am I understood?"
Tensing, I swiftly nod my head, clamping my mouth shut and pretending to zip my lips shut. Tiger Claw growls before nodding once and returning me to my spot under his arm. I curl into myself as Tiger Claw launches himself up into the air once more, fingers fiddling with the pendant's chain to distract myself. The guy has knocked my shell loose before so I wouldn't put it past him in using me as a new scratching post.
I bite the inside of my cheek as I can just make out the distant roars of the U.P. How did we get so far ahead of him? He was right on Tiger Claw's nonexistent tail! Nerves dance in my stomach as I hope that the Ultimate Protector doesn't completely lose our trail. Then my brothers might not actually be able to find me. I gulp. But don't they want the U.P. too? So, like, wouldn't they want him to follow us? Ugh, why can't bad guys make up their mind on what they want?!
I'm shaken from my thoughts when Tiger Claw suddenly angles us downwards. Glancing down, my blood runs cold as I recognize the building immediately. It's Rahzar's dojo. Or well, it USED TO BE Rahzar's dojo. It was closed down a few years ago when a news story got leaked (April, you sneaky ninja you) that Rahzar, or Chris Bradford, was the reason why some kids disappeared. They had been turned into mutants to help the Shredder grow a mutant army, but the news story stated that they just haven't been found. And, well, since Chris Bradford is a mutant, he was never actually caught and questioned about it. But now people scorn his name and rightfully so.
The jerk, I think bitterly just as Tiger Claw lands right outside the front door. He presses his paw against a small glass panel that I know wasn't on the door the last time I was here. A faint click fills the air and Tiger Claw strolls into the dojo with me still under his arm. The main part of the dojo is dark and a sneeze works its way from me as dust particles fly around as the large cat walks.
"Gesundheit," Tiger Claw says without missing a beat as he walks toward the brick wall. I frown, not entirely sure if I'm even allowed to say 'Thank you' or if I should even say 'Thank you' to this assassin. I mean he's the enemy, so I don't think I should be thanking him for anything.
Although, why did he bless me in German? I didn't think it was proper to say anything after someone sneezed in Japan. Maybe he's been over here for too long?
Pursing my lips, I glance up at the mutant tiger as he pauses before the brick wall. My eye ridges furrow as he reaches out with a single claw, confused as to what exactly Tiger Claw is doing with this wall. My eyes widen when he traces an X on one of the bricks. A soft rumble fills the air and the bricks slide away, one by one.
Donnie's secret wall entrance is far cooler than this thing is, I think. I bet they even copied the idea from him after finding our last lair. Idea stealers!
My shoulders tense when Tiger Claw glances down at me, a sharp smirk on his face.
"Ready yourself, little cub. For today, you shall use your powers as the Ultimate Weapon as they were intended."
Fear ripples through me as my mouth dries as the lights dance ominously before us.
"And…And what intention is that? World dominations?" I joke weakly. "'Cause that seems like a lot of responsibility if you ask me, my dude."
Tiger Claw chuckles, this sound much darker than I've ever heard from this mutant in all the years that we've fought with him. I swallow a whimper as he slowly lifts me so that we are face to face.
"Not quite, little Kyūkyoku no buki, not quite." His smirk morphs into a full, toothy grin. "No, you shall be doing something much better. Something that will spell the doom for your family and those cowardly Utroms. The one person who can finally bring order back to this world. The true master of the Foot Clan, not that sorry excuse of a leader that they have now. Our one true master." Tiger Claw pulls me closer as my heart jackhammers in my chest. "You shall raise the Shedder back from the dead."
My mouth opens and closes when a strangled noise escapes me and everything goes black.
0o.o0
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0o.o0
Hello everyone! How has your week been? Work has been an absolute pain, but when isn't it? XD Jumping from 18 hours to 28 without warning is always a bit much but hey, we live in a world that demands money and student loans won't pay themselves ..
Anyways, thank you everyone who has commented and favorited my little story! I deeply appreciate it and it's nice to know that people are still reading this story :-). So, thank you and I hope all of you enjoy this next chapter. It didn't really come out how I wanted it too but sometimes the characters decide on a different set of actions than you want *shrugs with a sweat drop*. But hopefully, it's still an enjoyable reading.
P.S. The Japanese that I use in my story I merely used Google Translate so it's more than likely not correct but I personally don't know more than a few words in Japanese (Nani being the only one that I can make a sentence with. A single word sentence LOL.) and just wanted Master Splinter and any other characters who are from Japan to speak it. So, if I have any readers who do speak Japanese and these sentences don't make sense (also considering that they're not written in Kanji) I apologize.
*"Return my son to me now!"
* "There is nothing you can do now, Hamato Yoshi. Your son will be coming with us, whether he wants to or not. And with his help, we shall finally achieve our ultimate goal."
* "Bastard! Return my son to me now! He is not some object for you to use!"
