The Master was sitting in the middle of his throne room meditating. As he sat in thought and contemplation, five Motorheads came from the rafters and began surrounding him. One Motorhead walked up to him and drew a sword. As the Motorhead brought it down on him, the Master actually caught the blade in his hands. His eyes flew open as he palm punched the Motorhead in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground. The Master quickly caught the fallen blade as he got to his feet and two more of the Motorheads charged towards him. He blocked the blade strike of one and quickly swiped his feet. The third Motorhead tried throwing shuriken at him, but the Master used his sword to block most of them. He caught one and threw it back at the Motorhead, causing it to impale him in the shoulder. A fourth Motorhead threw a Kusarigama chain at him, making it wrap around his arm. The Master simply pulled on the chain, yanking the Motorhead forward so the Master could clothesline him. Just as he was about to face down the final Motorhead, there was a polite knock at the door. Though irritated, the Master signaled the Motorhead to stop and he went over to his desk to press a small red button. There was a buzz and the door opened as he sat down at the desk.
"Master!" Stockman greeted as he waltzed into the temple-like room.
"This had better be important Stockman." the Master cautioned. "I detest being interrupted."
"I am very well aware of that Master," Stockman assured him as he reached into his lab coat. "But, what I have to show you is beyond important."
From his coat, the scientist pulled out two files, handing them to the Master. One was labeled 'T.M.N.T.' and appeared to be a relatively new file. The second was much older, the papers yellowed slightly from age and the label reading 'Project Oracle'.
"The Project Oracle file?" The Master asked, perplexed. "I thought you said she was destroyed."
"That was my initial conclusion, yes." Stockman agreed. "However, it would seem that the reports of her demise were greatly exaggerated. Not only is she alive, but she is one of the five nuisances that have been causing you so much grief, Master."
The Master set the files down, looking at Stockman with a rising anger.
"So what you are telling me is that not only were your reports of her termination inaccurate, but she had been working alongside my enemies, dismantling my entire empire, and ruining everything I have built for myself?!"
Stockman stumbled back, never having been on the receiving end of his Master's wrath. Sure he had witnessed the man filet his enemies without hesitation, but never had we thought his life may be the one to be snuffed out. Taking a quick gulp, Stockman quickly tried to recover.
"The evidence pointed to her death," Stockman rationalized. "I had no way of knowing she would survive. If I had known-"
"Enough!" The Master cut him off. "I do not tolerate excuses Stockman. I want to know how you're going to salvage this."
Stockman nodded quickly, already trying to calculate a suitable plan.
"Of course Master." he replied. "I have already compiled a detailed file on each of the turtles through the footage I witnessed. With it, you will be able to train your soldiers to properly combat this mutant threat should I rise again."
"And what about the 'Oracle' problem?" the Master asked.
"I may have a way of capturing her, and possibly the turtles as well, saving you the time and effort needed to train your men." Stockman answered, the plan already forming in his head. "All I require is the use of Hun and some of his men, if you allow it, that is."
The Master contemplated for a moment.
"Very well Stockman." he relented. "Do what you need to. But I caution you to get it right, or your next mistake will be your last."
Stockman bowed, then quickly took his leave.
…
Hun was none too pleased when Stockman came waltzing into his headquarters like he owned the place.
"Hun, my boy!" he called. "You and I have some business to discuss."
Hun snarled. The last thing he wanted was to deal with Stockman twice in one day. Unfortunately, he also knew he had little choice in the matter.
"What do you want?" Hun demanded, not even bothering to look the doctor in the eye
"It's not what I want." Stockman chuckled. "It's what you need."
Now Hun turned around. The doctor grinned, knowing he had the behemoth's full and undivided attention.
"It's no secret that even though you managed to get that footage of the five pests, you're still on the Master's naughty side." he taunted. "But I think I know just how to get you back on his nice list."
"And how is that?" Hun growled.
Stockman put his arm around the giant, walking him towards a nearby laptop.
"I know how you can capture Project Oracle, and then, her so-called 'brothers', those mutant turtles."
Hun snorted.
"I have tried for four years to capture them. What makes you think your plan will do any better?"
Stockman produced a flash drive, inserting it into the laptop.
"Tell me Hun. What are the three things every living creature needs to survive?"
"Food, water, and air."
Stockman smiled, patting Hun on the head.
"Good job." he congratulated in a condescending tone. "That was correct."
He began typing away on the laptop as he continued talking.
"These turtles are the same. They require food and fresh water. So this begs the question; where do they get their food?"
Hun raised an eyebrow. Stockman sighed.
"Honestly, is there a single working brain cell in the cavernous space you call a brain?" he asked. "Project Oracle is the only human in their little group. It stands to reason that she is the one that is sent to gather supplies. Even if they are hiding now, eventually, they will run out of food, necessitating Oracle to reveal herself."
Hun just chuckled.
"What are you suggesting?" he asked. "That I have my men stake out every grocery store? Every convenience shop? Or maybe you just want me to spread my men out, watching every fast food joint in this city!"
Stockman let Hun rant, then triumphantly hit the enter button. A photo came onto the screen, a frozen image from the footage downloaded from the fight. With a grin, Stockman zoomed in on a corner, focusing on a strange white box. After a quick enhance and brightening the picture, Hun was surprised to see it was a pizza box.
"Not every fast food joint." Stockman told him. "But perhaps you should stake out Mario Brothers Pizzeria off 19th avenue and 84th street."
As Hun stared at the picture, Stockman walked out.
"Happy hunting!"
…
It was a surprisingly slow day at Mario Brothers Pizzeria, so slow that the only real work Casey's boss had him doing was sweeping the floor. To say he was bored was an understatement.
"Why did I have to agree to work a double shift on a Tuesday?" He groaned. "Nobody ever comes in on Tuesday."
As if to prove him wrong, the bell of the front door went off. Casey couldn't help sigh in relief, grateful for any type of distraction. He leaned the broom against the wall as turned towards the door.
"Welcome to Mario Bro-"
His voice trailed away as he saw who it was. It was a group of about three men, all of them big and brutish looking, dressed in navy blue police uniforms. Casey looked at these guys, then cleared his throat.
"Can I help you officers?" he asked.
One of the officers looked Casey up and down, as if sizing him up. He then looked around the shop.
"Where's your boss, kid?" he asked.
Casey bristled at the kid comment, but bit his tongue and walked towards the kitchen.
"Luigi!" he called. "I need you out here!"
Luigi came out, and was surprised by the three cops in his shop.
"Is there-a problem officers?" he asked.
The two other cops came forward, one of them producing a photograph. He handed it to Luigi, who took it surprised.
"This is a recent photo of a notorious criminal known as Oracle."
Casey was skeptical.
"Like the girl from Batman?" he asked.
The three cops all glared at him.
"This is serious, kid." The third one told him. "Oracle is incredibly dangerous. She's wanted for multiple accounts of assault and battery, assault with a deadly weapon, and vandalism."
Casey blinked. Whomever this Oracle girl was, she was obviously a volatile character. That was when Luigi handed him the photograph. When Casey saw it, his eyes went wide.
"This-This is Hisako!" he shouted. "This is my friend."
One of the cops sighed.
"We were afraid of this." He said. "You see, Oracle is known for using aliases and befriending those who she comes in contact with to keep them from discovering her true identity and intentions."
Casey looked at the photo, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"No." he said after a moment, "It can't be true. She would never lie to me."
The second cop approached Casey, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Son, tell me something. Whenever she comes to this establishment, do you ever see her with anyone else?"
Casey stumbled for a bit before reluctantly shaking his head.
"No..."
"And how about when she gets that deep dish pizza. Does she ever use a credit card? Show any form of ID?"
Once again, Casey could only shake her head.
"She's been fooling you, son." The third one told him. "I'm sorry."
Luigi stepped in between Casey and the cops.
"What-a can we to-a help?" he asked.
The cops all smiled, as if happy that the two of them were willing to cooperate.
"Just go about your normal routine, sir." they said. "We'll be staking out your shop, waiting for her to come."
"If you don't interfere, then we won't have any trouble."
With that, the cops prepared to leave. As they approached the door, a thought struck Casey. These guys had mentioned that Hisako came to get a deep dish pizza, but how could they know that? It was true that Hisako always paid in cash, but that meant there was no way to track the order.
Something wasn't right.
"Hey Officers!" he called.
They all turned as Casey came forward.
"Quick question." he asked, "Do you by chance know Lieutenant Arnold Jones?"
The cops paused for a second, then nodded.
"Can you tell him hi for me?" he asked. "He helped me out awhile back, and I've been meaning to thank him."
The cops nodded again, then quickly left the store. Casey watched them go, then turned to Luigi.
"Those guys aren't cops."
…
It was a rare morning that Splinter did not awaken to the chaotic sounds of his children. As he ventured out of his room, he walked into the living room, where his children and their new house guest were sleeping.
When Hisako had first been adopted into his unique family, she had been plagued by regular nightmares to the point that she would awaken everybody with her screaming. To prevent further nightmares, she would usually spend the rest of the night sleeping with one of her brothers, if not Master Splinter himself. This went on for some time before Donatello came up with an idea
Using the mattresses from their beds, as well as one or two from the dump, the purple turtle constructed what he called the "turtle-sized" bed. It was easily big enough to hold all four turtles and Hisako, and after some reconstruction of the living room, the siblings could now rest peacefully through the night.
Leatherhead, not wanting to leave Hisako's side, had settled onto the couch, where he had fallen into a restful sleep of his own. It was a relief to see all six of them resting easily after the events of yesterday. However, he heard faint growls coming from Leatherhead's couch. It would seem that, like Hisako, he suffered from nightly terrors.
The crocodile tossed and turned before sitting up, growling loudly. At his exclamation, all four turtles and Hisako sat up violently, weapons drawn and shouting at the same time.
"Who!" Leo screamed.
"What!" Donny shouted.
"Where!" Raph also screamed.
"Why!" Hisako added.
Mikey, always one to joke no matter the situation, had to have his own interjection.
"And how!"
The other three turtles looked at their brother as Hisako checked on Leatherhead. She gently took his hand in her uninjured one, squeezing it.
"You okay big guy?" she asked softly.
He held his head as he took a few deep breaths.
"I am... alright." he said after a minute. "I... apologize... for scaring you all."
Realizing there was no danger, the turtles all flopped back onto the bed, groaning. Hisako chuckled at the sight, then looked down at her brothers.
"Well, since we're awake, hows about I make us some breakfast."
She was met with a chorus of growling stomachs, including Leatherhead's. Hisako giggled at the sound.
"I will take that as a yes."
She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, ready to see what they had to make.
"Let's see… I have the makings for omelets, breakfast tacos, just some eggs and bacon… I think I have enough flour and sugar to make some pancakes if that's what we want."
Mikey sauntered into the kitchen and closed the fridge door. Hisako looked at her brother confused as he grinned at her.
"Or, you could go and get us a pizza." He suggested with a big grin.
Hisako shook her head with a small smile.
"Pizza?" she asked. "For breakfast?"
Mikey shrugged.
"Hey, if we can eat breakfast for lunch or dinner, we should be able to eat lunch and dinner for breakfast."
Raph sat up on the mattress, looking over at the orange turtle.
"For once, I agree with the goofball." he remarked. "After all, we never did get that pizza yesterday."
Hisako looked at Raph with a surprised expression, then she turned to Donny.
"Come on Don. Tell them that's not a good idea."
The purple turtle contemplated this for a minute.
"Actually, a pizza would provide the necessary nourishment a breakfast should have. I see no problem with getting one for breakfast."
Hisako looked at Donny as if he had lost it. In desperation, she turned to Leo.
"Well, what do you think?" she asked,
She had hoped he would be sensible and say no. Instead, the blue turtle merely shrugged.
"A pizza does sound good." he mused.
Hisako threw her hands up in mock surrender, a laugh escaping from her lips.
"Alright. I yield. I'll go get a pizza. But know that I am doing this under protest."
The brothers all playfully pushed her as she grabbed her bag and headed towards the ladder leading up to the garage.
"I'll be back soon." she told them, "And try to stay out of trouble this time!"
"No promises!" Mikey called.
Hisako could hear Raph smacking Mikey as she made her way up to the surface.
…
The three cops from before sat in a large armored car parked about a block away from Mario Brothers Pizzeria. They had cameras set up inside and outside the parlor, waiting for the girl to show up. However, his men were quickly proving to be the impatient sort, getting restless after less than a day of watching.
"Why the hell are we sitting here?" The first guy asked. "We should be out doing… I don't know… something besides just sitting here."
The second guy groaned, turning to his cohort.
"Look, Hun put us on this job, so we're gonna do it." he snapped. "So just be patient."
The first guy slammed his fist on the table in front of him in frustration.
"You've been saying that for hours man. Frikken hours! I'm tired of being patient!"
"Well, then by all means, go on and blow our operation by pulling some sort of stupid stunt and get us all into trouble. Just like you always do!" The second guy shouted in retaliation.
"You got a bone to pick with me or something?!" the first guy yelled, standing up.
"I got much more than a bone you dirty piece of-"
Before the second thug could finish his retort, the third guy turned to them both
"Will you both just shut up?! Look!"
The two turned to the screens where a motorcycle had just pulled up. The rider removed their helmet to reveal a girl. And not just any girl.
Their target.
The second guy grabbed a nearby walkie-talkie, switching it on.
"Oracle spotted. Proceed to intercept positions and be ready for action."
The first guy smiled and cracked his knuckles.
"Finally."
…
Hisako was surprised to see Casey standing at the front counter, a worried look on his face. When the door closed behind her, Casey looked up in surprise, hiding his worried expression with a grin.
"Hey Hisako." He called.
"Hey Case." She replied, approaching the counter with a slightly worried look. "What's up? You look a bit stressed."
Casey brushed off her worry with a wave of his hand.
"I'm fine." he promised her. "I've just been working full shifts for the past two weeks straight. Mom fell behind on some of the bills, so I've been putting in extra hours to help her out."
Hisako smiled. For all the toughness he tries to portray, deep down, he was nothing but a big softy. Still, something still seemed off. She was tempted to read his mind to find out what was wrong, but ultimately decided against it. Casey deserved to have his secrets. After all, he respected hers.
"Whoa, what happened to your hand?" Casey asked, gesturing to the swath of bandages around her right hand.
She blinked, then looked down at her hand, having forgotten about her injury for a moment.
"I got bitten." She explained. "I'm fine though. Just can't bend my fingers all that well."
"Well, I hope you can carry pizza, cause something tells me that's why you're here." He declared.
"Yep." Hisako replied. "Two pizzas actually. An extra-large meat lovers, and my usual. An old friend needed a place to crash, and he's a serious carnivore."
She chuckled at her little joke as Casey nodded.
"Got it. One extra-large meat lovers, and a thin crust pizza with mushrooms and pineapple."
Hisako froze, alarm bells going off in her head. Casey never got her order wrong, and when he did, it was never that badly. It was almost as if he was doing it…
On…
Purpose…
"You know me so well…" she replied hesitantly, trying to keep her voice even and upbeat.
Casey turned his back to Hisako, walking towards the doors leading to the kitchen.
"You know what I always say…" Casey began.
The door opened behind Hisako as Casey reached for something in the kitchen.
"The day I get your order wrong…"
The door shut and Hisako could sense three different presences behind her.
"Is the day you know something is wrong."
On instinct, Hisako spun on her heels, bring up her foot for a kick. She connected with one of three men, all of them dressed in police uniforms, sending her victim flying. However, it was obvious these guys weren't here to protect and serve. Seeing the other two attempting to reach their pistols, Hisako rushed forward, jabbing the second attacker in the neck and bringing him to his knees. With a swift chop, the guy was out cold.
The third guy was much smarter, and much faster. When Hisako went for a blow, he leaned out of the way, grabbing her injured hand, jamming his fingers hard into the bandages. She howled in pain as he twisted it behind her back painfully. She tried to free herself, but any movement only made the spikes of pain going through her arm worse. It was then that the third guy said two words that made her blood run cold.
"Hello, Oracle."
Hisako barely had time to gasp before a loud crack echoed through the pizzeria. The guy's grip on her arm loosened, allowing for her to pull away. When she turned to face him again, she watched him slump to the ground out cold. Standing over him, brandishing a, now broken, wooden baseball bat, was Casey. He was breathing heavily and glaring at the three men on the ground in what Hisako could only describe as utter hatred.
"C-Casey?" she asked nervously.
Casey tossed the broken bat aside, turning to his friend.
"Are you okay?" he asked, "They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"N-no..." She replied.
"Good." he told her. "Because I would have bashed their skulls in if they had. Bad enough they were pretending to be cops, but they tried to sell me some BS story about you being a criminal."
Hisako was hyperventilating, trying to control the rampant thoughts shooting through her brain like lightning. That cop had called her Oracle, meaning he knew who she was, and what she was. And that meant he could only be working for one person.
"How is this possible…?" she whispered. "How did he find me…?"
Casey, who was making sure the three men wouldn't be getting up again, looked up at Hisako in confusion.
"You sure you're okay Greeny?" he asked. "You look as pale as a ghost."
Hisako shook her head, trying to bring herself back into reality. Now was not the time to sink into one of her fits of terror. She needed to focus. Thinking quickly, she reached into her bag to grab her shell cell. Unfortunately, the phone had been reduced to a small handful of sparking bits of metal and glass during the fight.
"Damnit..." she cursed, tossing the destroyed phone to the ground. "I can't call the guys… What do I do?"
Knowing panicking would get her nowhere, she tried one of the many calming techniques that Splinter had showed her. As she regained her senses, a question dawned on her.
"Wait a second, Casey!" She called.
Casey stood up and walked into the kitchen. Hisako followed, but stopped just on the outside of the swinging doors.
"How did you know those guys weren't cops?"
Casey seemed to scoff.
"I asked them if they knew Lieutenant Arnold Jones. They said they did. That's how I knew they were fake."
"How?" Hisako questioned.
The kitchen doors opened again and Casey reemerged. He had ditched his work uniform for a red sleeveless shirt, jeans, and an old gold bag full of different sporting equipment. There were hockey sticks, baseball bats, golf clubs, cricket bats, croquet mallets, even lacrosse sticks. He pulled out his hockey mask and slipped it onto his face.
"Because Lieutenant Jones was my father." he replied. "And he was killed in action six years ago."
Outside, the sounds of motorcycle engines and armored trucks filled the air. Looking through the blinds of the window, Both Hisako and Casey saw an entire armada of vehicles surrounding the shop. From one of the trucks, a familiar wall of muscle emerged, causing Hisako to start breathing heavily again.
"Block all the exits." he ordered. "Surround the building and prepare to move in. Nobody gets out unless they're in chains."
With that, the two of them bolted away from the window, taking cover behind the counter.
"We need to get out of here." Hisako declared. "But how?"
Just then five motorheads crashed through the front window of the store. Knowing a fight couldn't be avoided, Hisako steeled herself.
"Casey," she hissed. "Stay here and-"
"Like hell I will." he interrupted.
Before Hisako could argue, he jumped up from behind the counter, charging towards the motorheads with a hockey stick in hand.
"Goongala!"
He caught one of the motorheads off guard, the blade of his stick getting him in the back of the neck. A second came to aid his fallen comrade, drawing a long sword as he ran. He attempted to slice at Casey, but fortunately, Casey brought his hockey stick up to block it just in time.
"A sword?" Casey noted sounding surprised. "What is this, medieval times?"
The motorhead didn't respond. He just continued to try and kill Casey with his sword, only for Casey to block each strike. Another motorhead came up behind him and prepared to attack, but before he could, he received a kick to the head from Hisako. Casey turned and looked surprised.
"Hisako?" Casey asked dumbfounded.
"Duck!" she ordered as she readied for a punch.
Casey ducked and she hit a motorhead in the gut. With a flip, she landed hard on the motorhead's helmeted face, knocking the guy unconscious. This left two more of attackers to deal with. Casey replaced his hockey stick, pulling out dual baseball bats instead. Hisako went back to back with him, drawing a single tessen and getting into a fighting stance. Casey looked over his shoulder at her in confusion as the two motorheads attacked.
"Since when do you know karate?" he asked, swinging his bats at his motorhead.
"I don't." She replied, slicing at hers with the edge of her fans. "It's ninjutsu."
"Gesundheit." he responded as he kicked his in the gut, then brought his bats down on the poor sap's back.
"No, Ninjutsu." she corrected, "The ancient Japanese art of stealth and combat. Like this."
She slid underneath the guy's legs, getting to her feet in a second and using her momentum to attack with a spin kick. The guy went flying out the only unbroken window, entangling in the blinds.
"Wow..." Casey muttered. "Remind me never to piss you off."
Outside, Hun was getting pissed.
"B-team, move in!" he ordered.
Thinking fast, Casey grabbed Hisako's uninjured hand, pulling her into the kitchen. They ducked into the pantry, closing the door just as the second wave came crashing in. Huddling in the darkness, Hisako tried to focus, figure out just how many attackers there were. Unfortunately, she was still shaken by the knowledge that her old life was trying to reclaim her, a realization that left her unable to focus. It also didn't help that Casey's brain was abuzz with questions.
"Hisako?" he hissed. "Who are these guys? Why are they after you? And how are you a frikken ninja?"
Hisako gave up trying to use her powers, turning to Casey.
"I'm a ninja because my father trained me to be one. And the term is Kunoichi."
"Okay, now I'm sure you're just making up words."
The two fell silent as a shadow passed over the door. They didn't even dare to breathe. Finally, the shadow passed and they sighed in relief.
"Keep searching men!" Hun's voice called from the front of the store. "Oracle's in their somewhere."
Once again, Hisako flinched at that name. She was okay with Leatherhead calling her Oracle, but anyone else using that name sent a chill up her spine.
"That reminds me." Casey whispered. "Why are these guys calling you Oracle? Just what are you to them?"
Hisako's breath caught in her throat. She stuttered for a moment, trying to come up with a suitable lie to tell him, but every excuse died on her tongue. She couldn't lie to Casey. He was one of the only friends she had that wasn't a mutant. Even when he had asked about her life, she had never outright lied to him. Omitted details, yes, but never lied. She couldn't start now.
"Oracle… is short for Project Oracle." she reluctantly explained. "It is what I was called before… Before I escaped."
Casey squinted in confusion.
"Project Oracle? Escaped? Just what is going on here?"
Hisako took a deep breath. This was gonna be hard.
"When I was little, I was the prisoner of a secret, privately owned laboratory. They held me against my will, torturing me and using me until I escaped four years ago."
Casey was stunned. He crouched there for a minute, his brain trying to process what he had just learned. Hisako had always said she'd had a rough childhood, but he never imagined being held captive in some lab. That's when another question arose.
"Why were you in a lab?" he asked. "What were they using you for?"
Hisako hesitated, but steeled herself and answered.
"They were using me- because of what I can do."
Casey was almost afraid to ask his next question.
"What… what can you do?"
Hisako took a deep breath.
"I can read minds…" she explained. "I'm telepathic."
Casey's eyes went wide. Hisako quickly raised up her hands to calm him down.
"I've only read your mind a few times, and only in the beginning when I was trying to see if I could trust you." she assured him. "I don't pry unless I have to."
"Okay good, because there are some thoughts that should not be witnessed by anyone other than the one who thought them." Casey said, then he slapped himself to get back on topic. "But that's for another time. Right now, we need to focus on the goons currently looking for you."
Hisako nodded, a lump forming in her stomach.
"They originally thought I was dead thanks to a friend of mine. I guess they somehow found out I'm still alive and set this trap for me." She pulled her legs closer to her, hugging herself. "And like a fool I walked right into it. Now they have me right where they want me, powerless and trapped."
Casey blinked in confusion
"Powerless?" he asked
"I'm too stressed, too scared, and I can't focus." she explained. "Trust me, I just tried."
Casey sighed, leaning against the wall next to her. Outside the pantry, they could hear Hun and his men tearing the restaurant apart looking for them. Hisako knew from experience that they wouldn't give up until she was found. She also knew it was only a matter of time before one of them finally looked in the pantry.
What am I gonna do? She thought to herself. I can't call my brothers, I can't use my powers, and there are way too many enemies to take on, even with Casey by my side.
Hisako closed her eyes, fighting back tears of pure fear. She knew what she had to do, and it terrified her.
"Casey, I need you to do something for me."
As if sensing what she was about to say, Casey pulled the mask off his face, looking Hisako in the eye.
"Whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it." he told her.
"Look, these guys are here for me. You might be able to get away if I draw their attention. And if you do, I have a chance of getting out of this as well."
"Hisako, no…"
"There's no other choice." By now, Hisako's throat felt as if there was a hot coal sitting in her windpipe. "I can give you a minute to get to my bike and get out of here."
She handed over a small key with a turtle shell key chain attached. Casey took it, the fear in Hisako's eyes reflected in his own.
"Hisako…"
"You know the warehouse district on the south side?" Hisako asked. "There's an old maintenance garage called Renaissance Motors. The building is decorated in Japanese Kanji and turtle shell designs. Go there and tell those you find there what happened here. Don't leave anything out."
Casey wanted to argue, wanted to convince her that this was a bad idea. He wanted to assure her that they could both escape, but not even he would believe his words. He just had to trust Hisako.
"Alright…" he said finally, his fist clenching around the key.
Hisako stood up, facing the pantry door. She wiped stray tears from her eyes and steeled herself.
God help me…
She kicked open the door of the pantry, drawing everyone's attention.
"You guys want me?" She asked, throwing her arms open. "Well here I am! Come and get me!"
The motorheads charged toward her with weapons drawn. Hisako ran towards them while Casey made his way to the back. Hisako used her Tessen to slice one motorhead in the chest while she elbowed another one. Keeping pace, she grabbed another one and threw him out the window. She jumped out the window as well and continued to duke it out with the motorheads. Hisako wasted no time taking out one after another. In a flurry of motion, she sliced at them with her tessen and kicked them to the ground, knocking them out cold. She knew she couldn't fight forever, but she had to hope she was buying Casey enough time, and, in the vainest hope, give herself a chance to escape herself.
Casey bolted out of the pantry, keeping low and using the kitchen's counters as protection from flying enemies and various cooking ware. He got to the back door, opening it hard enough to catch its guard in between the door and the wall.
"That's for getting in my way." he taunted as he stomped down hard on the guy's helmet.
He made it to Hisako's bike, turning to see if she could make a break for it with him. Unfortunately, one of the motorheads pulled out a taser stick and struck Hisako with it. She quickly kicked him in the stomach causing him to drop the stick. Before she could make another move, she was struck by another motorhead with a taser stick.
And another.
And another.
And another.
All too soon, she was overwhelmed with the amount of electricity surging through her body until she finally dropped to the ground.
"Hisako!" Casey shouted.
The remaining adversaries all turned to him as Hisako struggled to stay conscious. She met his eyes, and in that moment, he felt something enter his mind. He then heard a single word resonate through his entire body.
Run.
Casey jammed the key into the ignition, gunning the engine of the bike. A pair of motorheads attempted to intercept him, but he just sped right through them, his bat knocking them off their feet. He rounded a corner and disappeared, regretting every mile of his escape. Hisako allowed herself a small smile before blackness engulfed her.
Run Casey…
Her eyes closed as she sank to the ground. A pair of motorheads came and picked her up, holding the unconscious girl between them. Hun looked down at her, taking her face in his large fingers.
"Mission accomplished." Hun said with a sneer, dropping her face.
"What about the boy?" one of the men asked.
Hun turned to where the boy had been, his smile never diminishing.
"Let him run. He'll just make our job easier for us. After all, someone has to inform those freaks."
Hun then picked up Hisako's limp form, tossing her into the van, then climbing in himself. The doors slammed shut and the van drove off.
