Chapter Text
He knew it wasn’t his place to question his Master, but as Tigerclaw watched the child ruthlessly fight for his life, he couldn’t help but feel his creeping disappointment in the chosen method to subdue their enemy.
“He fights bravely.”
He wasn’t sure why he said it out loud. He supposed it was just one soldier admiring the skills of another.
“He is young.” His master responded, the distain in his voice coming through clearly. “Overconfident, foolish.”
Tigerclaw couldn’t say otherwise. On more then one occasion he’d fought with this turtle and his brothers before. They were a strong group when united. But they were sloppy, uncoordinated, prone to celebrating a little to early.
Though, that said, watching the young one fighting now, alone, focused… Tigerclaw could see potential that he had never noticed before.
“Do not take chances with him Master.” As Razar mumbled his warning, Tigerclaw spared them a glance before returning his attention downwards. “We should destroy him quickly.”
He held his tongue when Shredder ignored the mutant next to his side, turning his attention to the bots he had set up around the buildings they had led the small creature into.
“Archers.”
Surely, this would finish him. He might have been fast for a turtle, but-
Tigerclaw watched, once more finding himself silently impressed with the speed and agility displayed as he rolled back, dodged and swiped at arrows seconds before they could skewer him.
When the archers stopped with a single wave from his Master, giving the turtle time to catch his breath, Tigerclaw kept his expression stoic as he turned to them.
Or more accurately, to their master.
He didn’t spare either of them a second glance, saving his rage for the man standing between them. There was an almost manic look in his eyes, a look Tigerclaw had never seen before in their fights, not with his brothers standing next to his side. He didn’t look afraid, simply furious, snarling as he lifted his blade to the ones towering over him.
“Stop hiding behind your Footbots! Face me Shredder!”
If he had been alone, Tigerclaw would have scoffed. He could understand where his master was coming from. Young, overconfident, foolish. What made him think that he had earned the right to face their master in a one-on-one fight?
The little fool was only still alive because his master hadn’t gone to do the job himself. This whole display would have been over before the boy could even blink if he had to face the Shredder head on.
“You are beneath me, turtle.”
No truer words had ever been spoken.
While he might not have agreed with the method that his master chose, he had to concede that it was bold of the creature to believe that it deserved and audience with one of the greatest fighters he had ever met.
Tigerclaw would give him an honorable end, but this little child hadn’t earned the privilege to die at the hands of their leader.
As if the world had to dig this point in even further, he watched with a small smile as a chain wrapped around the other’s wrist and easily dragged him toward a fence.
For his hubris, fate treated him like the child he was. It seemed to play with him.
He was swung back and forth as if he was a simple infant who had found a rope to swing on, the illusion only shattered when the turtle’s legs kicked out in a panic as he tried to find any ground beneath him. When another foot bot race towards him, it’s intent clear, Tigerclaw almost found himself tutting as the inexperienced fighter tossed his sword to keep it from approaching further.
One should know to never toss their main weapons in battle.
Now he was down one sword, and there were still more waves to come.
As if fate had heard him calling for her, more foot bots crashed through the wooden fence the mutant was strung up on, their solid metal bodies slamming into him, a chaotic and unrelenting mass of body shaped machinery that pushed him right to the spot Saki had wanted intended for him in the first place.
He crashed into the pit of a building’s foundation like a newborn deer. Legs wobbly as he stood on the end, eyes wide as he reeled back and away from it, barely having time to set up a defence before he was being surrounded again.
Tigerclaw found his fingers twitching at the brash way that the mutant fought. His moves becoming sharper, more precise, lethal.
It had the predator in him itching to jump into the pit with them. To try his own hand at taking on this newfound flame of talent he had yet to see in the fights that he’d partaken in with the youth.
Truly, it was a shame that they hadn’t been able to be the ones to push him to this point. That Tigerclaw himself had never been allowed to fight with them long enough or individually to get to this point of pure instinctual violence that could only be brought by clinging to the idea of living in the face of obvious death.
“You should let me finish him, Master.”
“Not yet.” He could feel his ears twitching, the only outward display of his irritation at being denied. “I want to see him suffer.”
Though every cell in his body was itching with the want to fight, he stood down as instructed, watching carefully as the tiny mutant stumbled to a stop, catching his breath.
He turned back to face the group, or probably more accurately, their master, but not for long.
A still active footbot that would have been long dead had it been human and not a collections of metal and wire snuck up on him from below, grabbing at his ankle and tossing him over the side, dropping him ruthlessly into the bellows of the pit.
His ears twitched again, the unfairness, the dishonor in the act irking at something deep within him.
But he stood still, watching the long and painful fall that was met with the sharp slap of the water gathered at the end.
From the insistent chill in the air, he could only imagine how unforgiving the feel of that water must have been, surely wrapping around its opponent with icy claws and sinking into his lungs to burn him from the inside out as his panicked body would try to gasp for air at the shock of it.
His eyes narrowed, memories of his own childhood and trials sloshing to the surface that he easily cleared away.
Just when he thought that maybe it would be over. When he thought that out of all of the enemies the creature had faced, it would be the unforgiving embarrass of the elements that would do him in, the surface broke with a violent spray and a desperate gasp for air.
They all stood in silence, watching as he dragged himself out, rolling over and flopping onto his back, dragging air in through wheezing lungs for a few precious, still moments.
Then he stood, and Tigerclaw found he had to fight a smile from crossing his lips at the way the child stood once more in defiance, weaponless, injured, done, and yet still standing, still fighting.
“Now, you may finish him.”
It almost didn’t seem fair.
He lingered back by mere seconds as his comrades darted forward with an air of malice so strong he could taste it between his teeth.
Even though he’d been the one to start late, as they drew closer to their opponent, he found his patience wearing out, pulling ahead of the slower lackeys with the solo motivation to be the one to land the first hit.
It didn’t feel as satisfying as he’d hoped.
He pulled back, allowing the others their turns, partaking almost half-heartedly when their opponent was down, stomping on him with the bitter taste of ash in his mouth.
This isn’t how he wanted their last fight to go. He’d been hoping to see some of that ferocity, some of that blinding animal instinct.
But even with the strong stance he’d taken just moments before, it was clear.
The child was spent.
At least, that is what he believed, until he pulled his fist back and caught the white slit of the other’s eyes and the grit of his teeth.
Tigerclaw pulled away as the mutant let out a scream, springing back into life as he reached for to bright tubes attached to Xever’s back and flung him towards the dirt walls that made up their arena. He stood back, watching as he went after Bradford next.
The mutant clung to his back like a wild animal, disorientating his opponent long enough to give himself time to jump to a pipe, using it as a springboard before coming back and slapping his foot into the man’s chest and sending him flying back.
It was when he landed however that Tigerclaw caught it. The slight way that he favoured one leg over the other on his landing, how there was a ting of pain laced and buried in with the roar that emanated from his chest as he faced Tigerclaw head on.
That- that was the energy he wanted to face alone. Not after the bots had run him ragged, not after the others had been allowed to interfere with strikes of their own.
He wanted that killing drive to be caused by him and him alone. Two warriors meeting in their final clash.
They charged.
Sprinting towards each other, Tigerclaw’s mouth was filled with the bitter taste of dissatisfaction as he pulled his fist back and got ready to deal the finishing blow.
This would be it. The turtle creature was injured, exhausted and out of id-.
His eyes blew wide when the young mutant dropped, using the momentum of his run to make his dives forward even faster, uncurling from his tiny ball and using both legs to slam up into Tigerclaw in a move he hadn’t thought he would pull off.
His leg had been injured, the pain he was in must have been unbearable and yet…
As Tigerclaw rolled back on his shoulder and landed heavy on his feet, he could feel a smirk stretching over his fangs as he got ready to face his opponent and go for it again.
Only for a sharp gasp to ring through the air followed by a short and sudden scream.
His Master was in the pit with them, standing over the bloodied body of one of the six nuisances in his side, the glint of victory in his eyes as blood dripped from the long claws of his gauntlet.
Disappointment slumped the stiff hold of his shoulders, his footsteps heavy and almost dragging now as he walked up to where the fallen soldier laid, his eyes flickering down at a small chime that cheerily interrupted the heaviness of the atmosphere they had created.
Reaching down he dragged the boy up by the strap of his now useless equipment, almost shocked to hear a small groan of pain from him at the movement. Though it was a fact that he quickly brushed off as he tore away the phone from its holster, making sure not to break the fragile little thing in his hand as he squinted at the screen.
Dude where are you?
He scoffed at the casual title being given to what was supposedly their leader, catching the name of the sender on the second message on screen.
Mikey: Dude, we’re at April’s apartment. HURRY, Chumpy!
While he couldn’t place his finger on which one of them might have owned the name, ‘Mikey’ he felt his brow quirking as he looked at the small mutant dangling in his hold.
Chumpy? Was that his name?
Frowning at the limp body in his hold he turned back to his Master.
“They wait for him. In the girl’s home.”
Shredder hummed, seeming momentarily distracted, looking off into the distance before he spared a look to the mutants around him.
“The rat is close.”
The three instantly shifted their stances, ready for another fight.
“Bradford, Montes, go. Bait out those disgusting creatures and destroy them.”
While they hesitated for a moment, once sharp look from him had them bowing their heads and leaving the area.
When he turned back to Tigerclaw, he rolled his shoulders back into the perfect posture of a soldier.
“Takeshi. I want you to dispose of this nuisance as well. This will be the night where Yokai loses everything he cares about.”
“Hai, Master.”
Tossing the creature over his shoulder, Tigerclaw bowed deeply to the man before setting about to get started on his task.
Leaving him to his business, he leapt out of the pit to travel across the rooftops to the perfect place he knew to stash the body.
He would follow his Master’s orders, but there was something he wanted to do first.
And he needed the turtle alive to achieve it.