Before (Part 1)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Checking to make sure the coast was clear, Leo lifted up the man-hole cover a few inches off of the ground and looked around.

"Hurry up, Leo! We don't have all day!" Raph hissed up at him. Ignoring Raph's anxiousness, Leo double-checked, then lifted the man-hole cover.

"All right, the coast is clear." he said as he shoved the thick piece of metal aside and climbed out. Raph, Donnie, and Mikey followed quickly behind as they ran through the streets, which had been cleared due to the explosions. Once they reached the hotel, they knew just how much damage had been done. They all took a quick breath of shock at the sight that stood before their eyes.

The entire hotel was up in flames, people pouring out of the building like cockroaches and sprinting to safety as they screamed in terror. But what freaked them out the most was that none of them were Madi.

"We should check the roof!" Mikey said over the sound of screaming people. They all bolted towards the nearest fire escape and climbed up, jumping from roof to roof until they reached the one nearest to the burning hotel. Fear filled all of them as they searched for a way up to the top floor, finding that none of the fire escapes were usable.

"Well, I didn't think you'd take so long." a voice spoke behind them. Raph snarled, knowing exactly who was talking as they turned around to face the guy truly responsible for this.

"Daniel." Raph growled. Sure enough, the Foot agent was standing only a few feet away, his sash obviously stating his rank as he wore his Foot uniform, the only thing missing was a mask. "You did this." Daniel smirked and rolled his eyes.

"No, I just downloaded the tracking device to her phone, which lead Karai and the other ninjas here to place the bombs around Madi's apartment. I'll admit, I'm happy she wasn't in that explosion, though. It was deadly." Daniel said.

"She wasn't? But I thought she left the lair after their shouting match." Mikey said.

"What are you talking about?" the Foot agent said, his voice starting to crack a little with worry. "She was at the lair the last time we checked, Madi didn't leave. S-she couldn't have. Shredder said-"

"You shouldn't have trusted Shredder, Danny-Boy!" Raph shouted in anger. "Madi left the lair before the sun set! She's probably dead because of you!" Fear and regret appeared on Daniel's face for a split second, but was easily replaced with an emotionless expression.

"The Shredder knows what he's doing. If he wanted her dead, then that's what's going to happen. But since that's not the case, she most likely survived." Daniel explained to them. Raph began to step forward, ready to attack the jerk, but Donnie put his hand on Raph's shoulder, stopping him from doing anything rash before thinking.

"If he doesn't want her dead, then why is he after her?" Donatello asked. Daniel just smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Since you're surrounded and are going to die soon anyway, I'll humor you for a moment." They all looked around, realizing that Daniel was right. Countless Foot soldiers covered the surrounding roof tops, with Rahzar and Fishface to their right and left. "You've heard about her father's death, right?" he asked them. They were silent as they glared at him.

"You never bothered asking what her father's name was, did you? And you don't know her last name, do you?" he asked them.

"Get to the point, Daniel." Leo snapped. Daniel smirked.

"Shredder's her father, geniuses. He's been after her this whole time to get her onto his side." Daniel told them.

"You're lying!" Raph shouted at him. Daniel shook his head, the evil grin never leaving his lips, then began to pace back and forth slowly, tauntingly, before them as he continued to tell them information they didn't want to believe was true.

"By the time Madi was five years old, Oroku Saki had planned to fake his death to lose dead-weight he didn't want to deal with while he searched for Hamato Yoshi. By staging a perfectly planned car chase, he faked his own and his other daughter's, Karia's, death, leaving behind Madi and her mother. It was a smart move on his part at the time, but then he realized something. He realized that Madi had a gift that no one else has, a special gift that only she can use." Daniel informed them. Questions filled their minds, begging and dreading answers. But out of the four, Mikey was the first to speak.

"If he wants her alive, then why did he blow up this hotel?"

"He has a large network of plans, you see? By blowing up her home, it will scare her. And it will bring you four to the surface. If our army can not kill you, then Karai and I will find a way to blame this entire mess on you four, causing Madi to join our side."

"Madi would never believe you." Raph said.

"Oh, she will. She's head-over-heals for me." Daniel bragged with a slight chuckle. "Of course, I enjoy her company as well and feel terrible about all of this, but not so terrible as to give up my spot as Shredder's agent. The thing is, ever since her "father's death", she had been desperate for someone to love her, to feel wanted in the world again. Her mother was never home and her sister was dead, which left me, Jacob, and April to mean the world to her. She just met you four, which means she hasn't grown as attached to you as she is to me.

"Think about it. You four heard Madi and I talking on the phone when I asked her to the movies. We all know that she would sell her soul if it meant I would be happy." Daniel spoke.

"You used her emotions." Donnie said, his anger started to reach a level that Raphael's usually got to. "I can't believe that you attacked her at her weakest point, using her personal flaws for your own personal gain. You said that you loved her."

"I do, just not as much as I love my job." Daniel told them. By this point, each turtle had had enough of this guy.

Donnie couldn't believe this. But, in a sad kind of way, he also could. Of course someone as evil as Daniel and Shredder would've been as low as to use his own daughter's emotions against her. It was a coward's tactic, but Daniel definitely fell under that title from the way he had planned all of this.

"This is not cool, dude." Mikey told Daniel. The four began to back up as the Foot began to close in on them. "What happens if Madi doesn't believe you? Then your plan would've failed either way."

"Simple. If she doesn't join us, then we'll kill her. Shredder never did like traitors, and she'd be one if she didn't rejoin her father's side." the agent replied as he unsheathed his large naginata.

Then they attacked.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Madi's kamas sliced through the air, smashing against the Foot commander's katana with each blow. Saying that she was furious would've been a serious under-statement at a moment like this.

Madi kicked her in the stomach, making her fly backwards and fall against a large pile of rubble. The Foot assassin's metal mask flew from her face, sliding against what was left of Madi's home and off the side of the building. As the commander sat up, Madi gasped. Even after ten years, she would've recognized her sister.

"Karai?" Madi said in shock. She wasn't sure if she should be angry or happy with her sister. "You're alive. After all this time, you're still alive." Karai smirked as she stood up.

"Of course I am." she replied.

"But why would you join Shredder? The man who killed out father?" Madi asked her, starting to get angry. Karai just smiled and rolled her eyes.

"You don't get it, do you? After all of these obvious signs, you still don't understand?" Karai asked.

"What is there to understand? You're an enemy now, and that's that!" Madi countered. Karai grabbed her katana from the ground, swinging it around a few times to look threatening.

"I'm not the enemy when I'm on my family's side." Karai told her.

"But you're not on my side." Madi said, getting tired of all these non-sense games that Karai was playing.

"No, I'm on our father's side."