Chapter 7 - Tragedy

The Silver Knight sighed heavily, grimacing at the reflection in the mirror.  "Don't worry. For yokai standards, you are a piece of beauty,". Sunita had just fastened the mystic cloaking broach on Sil's gear, changing her into a white and grey cat yokai, having the ears and facial features of a cat with silky grey fur on her hands and legs, a white fluffy tail to go along with it, though still having to walk on two legs. 

"Why do I have to be a - achoo!- cat?" Sil's eyes watered and she sniffled. "Hmm... allergic to cats. Bummer, but it's maybe because you have cat-like reflexes," Sunita smiled sympathetically. "I guess that could be true. Thanks anyways, I owe you one," Sil squeezed Sunita's hand, passing her a grateful look. "Anything for my girls. Let's get going!"

---

Sil stepped out of the shadows smiling nervously at her so-called established escort team. Obviously, Donatello was with her. "Presenting, Miss Felicity!" Sunita cheered. Mikey cooed immediately, "Oh mee gosh! Sil you look so cute,". Sil's 'cat-ears' flattened on her head with embarrassment, making Donnie hide a chuckle. The Silver Knight just shook her head, "Uncle Drax, I'm disguised. We should get going,". The older yokai nodded and commanded Donnie to pass the now securely wrapped meteorite to Sil. 

"Draxum, Raph, you take the back of the pack. Mikey and Donnie, stay by her side. Sunita and I will be up ahead. Keep in tight formation but don't make it too obvious. Remember the plan," Leo warned, "-we are a tourist coming to visit the Hidden City and Sunita is our googly yokai guide. When we reach Senor Hueso's portal, we need to fall into character. Dad, April, Cassandra, and Casey Jr will be watching us once we enter and will warn us if they see anyone who looks suss. If anything happens spread out as we planned. All good?" 

Raph nodded proudly and tipped Leo off with a huge thumbs up, the others nodded determinedly. Leo smugly swiped his swords across the air and the iconic blue portals fizzled to life. The group of yokai, mutant, and human stepped into the blue pool and instantly found themselves in Senor Hueso's kitchen at Run of the Mill's Pizza. "That was interesting," Sil awed in a whisper, catching Leo's attention. "Impressed?" the turtle said with a smirk. Sil nodded, "Yeah. Your portals work like a door. Mine kinda brings you through a few seconds of a weird dimension then you pop back where you need to be." 

"Ouuuu.... you totally gotta show Neon Leon how it works," Leo swung his hand over Sil's shoulder and the girl smiled. "Sure. Anyways, who's this Senor Hueso? Is it that skin-looking guy over there?"

Leo grumbled, "No. That is his brother, Capitan Pielle the uh... skin yokai? I'll introduce you guys later but right now..." removing his arm over Sil's shoulder, Leo sneaked up on the skin yokai with the sneakiest face the red-eared slidder could ever muster "HEY SKINNY! WHERE'S  BONE MAN?"

"AY!" the skin-yokai shouted, a loud cry was heard coming from a smaller bone boy hiding behind the skin-yokai. Mikey smacked Leo up his head and apologized, "Sorry, Hueso Jr. Leo's an idiot but we are looking for your dad."

"Ah, my brother did mention he was awaiting your arrival. Mi hijo, please get your papa from his office?" 

The little bone boy nodded and hopped off. Now Capitan Pielle was free to give Leo his own head smacking, earning a chuckle from his brothers. "Ah! What was that for?" Leo whined. "That was for giving me a heart attack and scaring my nephew." The captain with the pirate's hat then turned into one cat-like figure. "I take it that you are the Silver Knight?" 

"And how do you know this?" Draxum glared at the skin yokai. Leo quickly stepped in, "Actually, I recruited him. The Capitan is the best when it comes to portals. Since portal jacking used to be his thing if, it happens to us-"

"-he could help us with the experience he has. Smart move fearless leader." Sil sent Leo a smirk.

"Any friend of the turtles is a friend of my brother and me." smiled the skin-yokai. "Although, I must warn you about the recent bounty on your head. There is a rumor that even Big Mama could be involved in this since a few yokai have seen her bondsmen around the city." Donnie pointed out urgently, "That's why we need Hueso's help. We need to enter the city under the radar." 

"That's a good thing that I still keep your numbers, especially after Mr. Blue and Mr. Purple's prank that backfired and accidentally made a man-eating pizza." entered the Bone Man himself cradling the younger bone boy.

"That's Senor Hueso?" Sil asked looking up at Raph. The red-clad turtle nodded, "The one and only.  Don't worry, he and Pielle are family friends." Sil smiled gently, "The young boy is Bone Guy's son?" Raph nodded. 

Leo jumped and hugged the skeleton, much to the other's displeasure. "Bone Man! Thanks for helping us out. I always knew you had a good heart behind that curtain of sarcasm." 

Hueso rolled his black eyes, "Yes, yes. I know. So, is she the one?" he pointed towards Sil in her cat yokai disguise. Leo let go of Hueso as the Bone Man walked towards Sil, inspecting the disguise. He handed Hueso Jr to Donnie who reluctantly held him. Still, the Bone Boy giggled as he began to play with Donnie's goggles. 

"She is," Sil replied on her behalf. "Silver Knight at your service."  

Hueso wore an impressive look on his face, "The disguise works well if you were to only fool the Baron of the North's bondsmen."

"I assume not enough to fool Big Mama's men?" 

The Bone Man unfortunately shook his head. "She only has a few bounty hunters out in the city. They are very hard to track so I would suggest all of you be on high alert. Plus, Big Mama has her bounty hunters trained to pick out mystic disguises."

Leo called up Splinter to tell him about Hueso's warning about Big Mama's goons before giving Hueso and Pielle the go signal to activate the portal. Just like Leo, Capitan Pielle used his pirate sword to open a portal, a green one this time. "This portal will lead you to an empty alleyway. Not many yokai wander that area so you can enter without being watched," Hueso explained.

Leo nodded and gestured to the others to prepare. Little taps on Donnie's shoulder drew his attention to the Bone Boy still nestled in his arms. "Can I talk to her before you go?" he asked in a sweet voice. Donnie looked to Bone Man who only shrugged his shoulders. "Sure kiddo." Setting Bone Boy on his feet, Donnie watched with a soft smile as Hueso Jr ran up to Sil and tugged on her pant leg. "Here's a small pirate coin for you. It brings good luck! I think you are very pretty..." The Silver Knight cooed. "Thank you. Hueso Jr, right? I will keep this with me all the time." They fist-bumped each other and the little Bone Boy squealed with joy, jumping over to his Papa. 

"Take care of each other. When this mission is done, I will have free pizzas waiting for celebration!" 

With one final breath, the team marched through the portal. 

---

"Alright, let's step out of the shadows," Leo cooly swaggered his way out of the alleyway and pretended to be a tourist. Sunita began to play her part as the tour guide, pulling out facts and pointing out objects along the way as they neared the bust town. The noise of the market began to fill up their ears and vendors and frustrated customers haggled over prices. Yokai's bumping into each other and them didn't make things any easier. The group huddled together, now mostly brushing shoulder to shoulder.

Draxum felt his fur bristle in nervous anticipation as he yanked a wanted flyer from a nearby stall. "I don't like this. There are already wanted flyers at the edge of town. I can't imagine what it would be like at the center." Several shadows zoomed up ahead. Raph signaled to the group, "Don't worry. Dad, April, Cass, and Casey Jr are in position. They'll alert us if they see anything weird." he comforted Draxum. 

"Gah, everyone just pushing up against us. Ever heard of personal space?" Donnie grimaced as another yokai unceremoniously stepped on his foot. "This looks like a breeding place for pickpockets."

Just as Donnie said that two yokai bumped right into Mikey and Sil. "Hey, watch it, lady!" One yellow-finned yokai growled, snatching Sil's right hand in a vice grip. The other blue-finned, barring its claws, snarled at Mikey as the turtle in orange tried to push them away. "Woah chill out, bruh!" Leo pushed his body between the yokai's putting distance between his youngest brother and Sil. Raphael hovering close by the two buffing himself out to look bigger and intimidating.

"We got no bone to pick with you. It's the whose eyes need to be checked!" The blue-finned yokai threatened, only to receive a blunt force to his chest by Donnie's tech-bo. "That's enough. It's just an accident." The two yokai tensed, being confronted by Leo and Donnie. "Move along buckaroo." The yokai glanced at each other, then one of them raised their hands up in surrender. Draxum watched them under a harsh glare as they walked off. 

"We should get moving," Leo commanded dragging Sunita along with him. Donnie decided to turn around once more just to make sure the troublemakers had made some distance but found the yellow-finned yokai eyeing the bad that Sil carried. The purple turtle approached Draxum and Raph, "Just for safety measures, we might need to keep close eyes on those yokai.  They seem pretty interested in Sil's bag." Donnie then looked up to where four pairs of white-glazed eyes remained fixated on them peaking from the shadows. He sent them a warning look before joining the others.

---

Up on the roofs, April and Cassandra tailed the yokai who had bumped into Mikey and Sil. The yokai walked a little before ducking quickly into a corner. Cassandra signaled for April to follow her moves. The two females scaled down the roof and landed a safe distance from the yokai, close enough to hear them speak. "..you sure she's the girl?" the first yokai with blue fins asked. 

"Please, that ridiculous cat disguise could only fool mediocre hunters. Call Big Mama and tell her we found the girl," the yellow-finned yokai replied. Anger filled April's eyes, "We need to stop them and warn the others," she whispered to Cassandra. The former Foot-clan recruit pounded her fists together. "You do that. I'm gonna can me some tuna." Letting out a battle cry, Cass did a triple backflip, slapping away the mystic orb away from Yellow Fin. 

"YOUR PLANS HAVE BEEN SEVERELY FOILED! April, get the orb!" the brunette burst out behind Cassandra, snatched the fallen orb then smoke bombed away to the rooftops.

Yellow Fin and Blue Fin were startled. "Get her!" Blue Fin leaped to the roof chasing April, leaving Cassandra to Yellow Fin, "Why doncha' surrender before I turn you into a DISGUSTING TUNA SANDWICH!"

---

"Co- Come in. I repeat, come in! Ther-- Hunters! On your way!" 

"April?" Donnie raised his voice in alarm frantically waiting for April's voice to boom back through his wristband. The others halted to a stop. 

"I repeat. Big Mama's guys are on to you. I have their communication orb thingy. Big Mama doesn't know and our plan isn't compromised but please get to safety and -" Their communication was cut off when a loud crash came from the marketplace behind them. Draxum and Raph stood in a fighting stance. Screams and yells began to grow. With a burst of blue smoke came a flying April O'Neill. She landed with a thud on the ground, orb secured in her hands, "RUN!"

Blue Fin whistled suddenly. Two short whistles and one long whistle. Within moments from within the crowd, five other yokai joined the chase. More bounty hunters. 

"Get cover!" Raph yelled, activating his sais. Red energy soared in the air as Raph ran toward April to bash and smash some bounty hunters. "Michelangelo, go!" Draxum ordered then ran off to help the red snapping turtle. 

Mikey launched his chucks in the air and elongated them to reach up to the roofs. A powerful orange aura burst in flames, igniting the sky with a brilliant glow. The 'Bounty Hunters have Found Us Sign' flashed brightly for Splinter and Casey Jr to see. Mikey landed with a thud and went off to help his big brother.

On the ground, Leo, Donnie, Sunita, and Sil had begun running with all the other fleeing yokai. One harsh bump on Sil's shoulder sent her cloaking broach flying to the ground and shattered on impact. The Silver Knight is there for all to see, with another just like her. "I'm all set," Sunita turned around looking exactly like Sil,  hair, eyes, bag, and all as she jumped into the distraction part of the plan. Hair, eyes, bag, and all. Sunita hid her cloaking broach in her pockets to match Sil since the Silver Knight no longer had one.

All seemed well until the crowd began to turn around and run in the direction they just came from and any other direction than forwards. Leo skidded to a halt, "To the roofs!" Donnie activated his jet pack only to receive a spear going right through one of the rotors. Up on the roofs was a gang of bounty hunters. These new ones wearing black uniforms. "Damn it!" Sil cursed. 

Sensing someone approaching from the back, she yanked the spear off Donnie's jet pack and launched it full force at the intruder. The spear hit him right between his legs. "Stay back!" More black-attired hunters revealed themselves, crawling out between alleyways and abandoned stalls.

Donnie lifted himself off the ground and twirled his tech-bo defensively. Leo and Sunita huddled behind them, the slider barring both of his swords as another group of hunters surrounded them from the front, these ones not wearing any uniform. 

"Enough games! Show us the real Silver Knight," one of the black-clad yokai's screamed. 

 "You's do your best and stay away from Big Mama's bounty. If yer can't even see through a simple disguise you's got no claim on the bounty." Leo identified the yokai without uniforms as Big Mama's hunters. Leo activated his mystic powers as a silent display of threat.

"If Big Mama really has a claim, then why isn't the eight-legged beast not here?" The goons in black began to laugh, parting slightly in the middle to let a sickly-looking lizard yokai walk through. Sil gasped, hands tightening on her bag. "What's wrong?" Donnie whispered.

"That's him. That's the Baron of the North."

The baron chuckled evilly. "The real Silver Knight. Hand her over purple one,"

"How did you's even know?" Big Mama's bounty hunter huffed angrily. The Baron of the North simply smiled, "While the Spider may have hunters well trained to pick out silly disguises, my men are better spies. We caught your fishy friends trying to inform Big Mama about their find."

"Thankfully we had two well-timed and unplanned distractions. Your friend I think," the baron pointed to the turtles. "The lady with the buzz cut certainly beat the yellowfin to a pulp. So in other words, thank you for graciously giving my hunter the luxury of time to group together. Now, surrender the Silver Knight and everyone walks away free and unharmed."

"*Scoff*. As if we'll do that," Donnie rolled his eyes to make the baron laugh almost wholeheartedly. "You are funny, Mr Purple. However, I was not asking. I'm demanding." with a snap of his fingers, the baron's men armed themselves to the bone. Big Mama's hunters mirror as well.

"Three seconds..." the baron smiled. "One.."

"Sunita, keep the disguise. We can fool some of the baron's guys." Leo told her.

"Two..."

"Backup imminent" Donnie whispered to his brother.

"...Three...-"

"HOT SOUP!"

From the top of the roof, came the one and only Lou Jitsu and Casey Jones. Leo threw one of his swords toward his father. Clenching a fist, Leo created a portal under Splinter and Casey, instantly transporting them in the middle of Big Mama's men.

"My sons, get Sil out of here. Allow your papa to look cool once in a while." Splinter said, tossing one hunter over his shoulder with his tail and punching another in the stomach. "Casey, help them."

"Yes, Sensei!", replied the boy.

"Attack them! Attack them now and don't lose my knight!" The baron screamed. His men yelled, running forwards to attack Big Mama's men and the tiny rat man.

---

"Well, it's about time!" Leo yelled over at Casey, bending backward as Donnie swiped his tech-bo over him to hit a bounty hunter in the face.

"Sorry. Had some goons in the way," he shouted.

A silver portal opened above the boys and out came Sunita and Sil, both with their masks adorned. "Silver Knights?"

"Knight," Sil corrected and shook Casey's hand. "She's a distraction. We need to get going now!" Leo and Sunita nodded. The two leaped up and ran head-first toward the baron and his men. Kicking and punching anyone that came in their way. "Adios loser!" Leo and Sunita knocked the baron over with a dual-power kick. "GAH! Get her! Get my knight!" In his state of blur, the baron orders his easily fooled and somewhat forgetful men to chase after the imposter.

Donnie, Sil, and Casey watched from their spot as the baron's man began to chase the distraction. "Let's go!" the three tried to quietly slip away but some of Big Mama's hunters got in the way.

"GET HER!"

The Baron of the North turned just in time to see the purple turtle with another silver knight and the younger boy beside them. "Damn it! We're chasing the wrong one! The rest of you, after them!"

Donnie narrowed his gaze and growled while Casey took out his hockey stick saw. "We have no time for this," Sil muttered and yanked the boys by their arms. "Hold on!" She shouted and slammed both her palms together. The silver portal exploded to life and the Silver Knight pulled the boys in. The portal snapped shut leaving behind the hunters who slammed into each other.

The baron slammed his fist on the ground and began looking around with anger.

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(forgive me if my Spanish is way off cause I used google translate ..... my main language in English and malay just if you were wondering :p)

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