User blog:Leofan13/A Clash of Two Worlds: Chapter Seven

So it's taken me a bit longer to finally get this one finished. I have a lot going on right now, but it is done. So, for those who have been reading so far, here is the next chapter.

Chapter Seven: Proceed as Planned

After a few hours of waiting, Raph and Leo returned to the lair. They appeared as if they had made up because they both looked a lot calmer than when they had left. Still, I needed to be sure. "Are you guys okay?" I asked, approaching them. Leo and Raph exchanged glances. Raph went first. "Yeah, we're fine," he said. Leo followed with, "Sorry about earlier. Things can get tense around here especially when family is at stake, no matter whose it is." Leo and Raph looked at me apologetically.

"It's okay, guys," I said. "I understand. Things can get tense at home as well, and sometimes my family and I argue, too." Thinking of my family made me sad. How I longed to be with them again. I wanted to hold them in my arms and never let them go. Tears began to form in my eyes and I quickly turned away from Leo and Raph, but not before the tears started rolling down my cheeks.

I desperately wanted the tears to stop. I felt like that's all I'd been doing lately. I swiped at them furiously. Crying isn't going to help, I thought, but the more I swiped at the tears, the more they kept coming. I finally fell to my knees, exhausted from crying. Leo and Raph surrounded me and hugged me, trying to comfort me. Leo whispered to me, "It's going to be okay. We'll get them back, no matter what. I promise."

Hearing his words, I felt a little better. I knew that Leo would not lie to me especially about something of this much importance. There was sincerity in his voice any time he spoke to me. This time was no different. I knew that I could trust him. Drying my eyes, I turned my face to look at him. He looked at me, too, with the softest, most caring look I've ever seen from anyone. This was sincerity in a nutshell. "Thank you," I said, a small smile forming at the corner of my mouth. "I know we will."

Leo knew what he needed to do next. With Raph and I at his side, he called for Donatello and Michelangelo who came running into the living room. After everyone was assembled, Leo began to speak. He said, "Earlier today, we checked out Foot headquarters to see what Shredder was up to. He wants Lauradane, bad. So, we let him get her, or at least let him think he gets her. We will keep a close eye on her and move in at just the right moment. Everyone clear on the plan?" Leo shifted his eyes from one brother to the next. Donatello nodded. Michelangelo smiled and gave a thumbs up. Raphael didn't look happy and just stood there with his arms crossed. Here we go again, I thought to myself, but to my surprise, he didn't lash out at Leo again. Instead, he grumbled, "Yeah, yeah." I guess even Raph won't challenge Leo twice in the same day. "Okay, then," Leo continued. "Let's go!"

Everyone started gearing up again. Leo grabbed his swords, sheathing them. Raphael and Michelangelo holstered their sais and nunchakus, respectively. Donatello had already sheathed his bo staff and went to work packing his bag of goodies. He packed it as full as he could with everything from shurikens and rope to various high-tech gadgets that he claimed would come in handy. "Hmm," Donatello suddenly said, frowning. "I'll be back before you know it." He zipped off to his lab without waiting for a reply.

We all watched Donatello as he took off. Leo, Raph, and Mikey all seemed unphased. On the other hand, I was confused as to why he would suddenly disappear like that. Noticing my puzzled expression, Leo merely shrugged and said, "He does that a lot."

Donnie returned about an hour later, triumphantly holding up a set of tegaki. Now it was the guys' turn to be confused.

"Uh, Donnie?" Leo asked.

"Yeah?" Donnie answered.

"What's with the tegaki?" Raph finished for Leo.

"Well," Donnie began, "I was packing up my bag and saw four sets of tegaki."

"So?" Raph asked.

"Normally, that wouldn't be a problem for four mutant turtles," Donnie explained.

"So?" Raph asked again, more impatiently this time.

Donnie looked annoyed. "So," he said, drawing the word out for Raph, "Technically, there are five of us now." Donnie looked over at me before continuing, "Since we need five sets and there were only four sets, I needed to make another set. So now, we have everything we need." Donnie had a huge grin on his face, seemingly satisfied with himself. Raph did not look amused. "Way to go, brainiac," he responded bitterly.

Leo took this moment to interject, "Good work, Donnie. Now that we're all ready, let's get going." Without another word we all headed out of the lair, through the tunnels, up the same ladder as earlier, out of the manhole, and up to the rooftops.

Once we reached the rooftops, Leo said, "Stay alert. Be ready for anything." We snuck across the rooftops tracing the same path we had taken before. Suddenly, Leo stopped in his tracks. With one hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw, and the other palm out in front of us signaling for us to stop and hold, Leo listened and waited.

From out of nowhere, a shuriken whizzed past our heads. We all turned to face the direction from which it came. Leo drew his swords and took a ready stance. Raph, Donnie, and Mikey all drew their weapons and readied themselves as well.

Earlier in the week, Leo had decided that we needed to prepare ourselves as much as possible. Seeing that I did not have a weapon, he had taken it upon himself to provide me with one and had even shown me how to use it during our sparring session. He had an arsenal of swords and bestowed one upon me. I had put in some practice, but I wasn't sure how effective I would be with weapons in combat. Nevertheless, I also readied myself.

A few ninjas revealed themselves from the shadows to face us. I had a feeling there were going to be more. I was right. Within seconds, we were surrounded by Foot ninjas, all of whom had their weapons drawn and were ready to attack. They charged at us and now we needed to defend ourselves.

Leo dodged the first Foot ninja's attack and kicked the ninja away from him. When the ninja regained his footing, he charged at Leo again with his sword held high. He struck at Leo, and both Leo and the ninja locked swords. Leo pushed him off and they began to sword fight.

Raph had his hands full with two Foot ninjas. They had both charged at him, ready to strike. With a sai in each hand, he had blocked their attacks. He pushed them off of him. He punched one in the face and knocked the other one down with a sweep.

Michelangelo had a small group of Foot ninjas around him. Using his nunchucks, he performed a flawless spinning move that knocked them all out.

Donatello twirled his bo staff on either side of him as he was surrounded by a circle of Foot ninjas. He began to knock them out, one by one. However, one Foot ninja leaped up and struck at Donatello with his sword. As his sword was about to connect with Donatello, it was met with two sais. Raph had blocked his attack. He knocked the ninja out and both Raph and Donatello continued to battle.

I, however, was not doing so well. One day of weapons training was nothing compared to the years of training by both the Turtles and the Foot. Only one Foot ninja had attacked me, but that was plenty to keep me busy. Holding his sword over his head, the ninja struck at me. I managed to block his attack with my own sword, but the ninja easily disarmed me and kicked the sword away. He then grabbed both of my wrists and I struggled to free myself.

Leo, having made short work of several ninjas, saw this and started making his way over to me. Meanwhile, I had struggled enough to cause this Foot ninja to loosen his grip. I slammed my shoulder into him as hard as I could, knocking him off balance. He let go of me, and I took this opportunity to grab his wrists. Using his body weight and a sudden surge of adrenaline, I flipped him over my shoulder. He landed on his back with a thud and let out a loud moan.

Leo, retrieving my lost sword, finally made it over to me. He handed it to me and I resheathed it. "Thanks, Leo," I said. Looking me over, he asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I'm fine."

"Nice work, slick," Raph said with a smile as he joined us. Mikey and Donnie also made their way over to us. With all of us reunited, Leo said, "Let's keep going," and we continued on our way to Foot headquarters.

To Be Continued...