From the Shadows: Warriors || BOOK 2 (TMNT)

Chapter 9. Drowning

     Athena scrambled to collect the vials and return them to their case. When she looked up and saw her leaders distracted, she decided to pocket one of the vials.

     "You're rather rude," Athena says, standing and turning from gathering the contents.

     "I'm just doing my job."

     Athena holds up her fists. "And I'm just doing mine."

     The man scoffs. He pulls two hand knives from his pockets. "You aren't doing a very good job."

     "How is that even fair?"

     "It's not." The man grins beneath his mask. "That's the point."

     The two begin their battle. The fight mostly consists of Athena backing away and dodging the man's knives. She didn't know what to do or where to go. The man was exceptionally skilled and got close to cutting her many times. He would have gotten to too if he hadn't been interrupted. He was pushed heavily to the side, being pinned against one of the shipping containers by a mutant turtle. Athena took this opportunity to go retrieve her weapon.

     The turtle holds his katana to the man's throat. "Who are you?"

     "Leonardo," the man groans. "It's me."

     Leo shakes his head. He lifts the mask. "Takao?" He steps away, releasing him.

     "Thank you."

     "How-"

     "I'll explain later," Takao says. "Now that you're here, you can help me destroy these crates."

     "What's in them?"

     "I'll explain that later as well. For now we-"

     Takao was cut off by Athena, who returned to the battle. She swung her tanto at him, completely ignoring Leonardo. She played aggressively, forcing Takao to back off until Leo stepped between them.

     "What are you doing?" Athena grumbles, clashing her blade against Leo's katana.

     "He's with us."

     "Oh great." Athena rolls her eyes. "Someone else I need to worry about."

     "Go fight someone that wants to kill you," Leo says, pushing her blade away. He turns to Takao. "What do we need to do?"

     Takao pulls his mask back down. "Follow me."

     Leo follows Takao through the shipping containers, leaving Athena. She turns away from where they left, turning a blind eye to Takao's plans. She races into the midst of the other battles, picking a fight with one of the other oni-masked soldiers. The soldier, angered by Athena's provocation, turns all of his attention toward her. He returns his blade to its sheath and pulls two butterfly knives out instead.

     "Interesting choice." Athena holds her tanto in front of her. "You'd choose two little knives over a sword?"

     "I'm making this quick," the man growls.

     Athena laughs. "Good luck with that. I'm known for being a pain in the-"

     The man cut Athena off by initiating their dual. He was agile and much more aggressive than any other person she had ever fought with. She was impressed, to say the least. The man certainly was skilled with these knives and had no trouble flaunting that talent. Unfortunately, that resulted in Athena becoming overwhelmed. She had trouble keeping up with his attacks. If Athena didn't think of some way to start being aggressive in return, she was going to lose.