Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You imbecile! This was the easiest possible job we possibly could’ve done, and you blew it!” Foot Lieutenant fumed as he scolded Foot Brute.

“Well I didn’t see you stepping up! How do you know you didn’t just underestimate the difficulty?!” Snapped Brute back to Lieutenant.

“What’s so hard about handing people fliers?!”

“It’s not just that, if it were, we’d be swarmed with new recruits!”

“In any case, we can’t afford to make such little return. In part because the clan’s numbers are dwindling… and it cost a lot to print those fliers in colour.” The two continued to babble as they walked down the barren wharf. All the arguing made Brute hungry, so he grabbed a chip bag the only one interested in the fliers — some little girl, no older than ten, named… Casablanca?… Sandra? — gave him to ‘sweeten the deal’. As he did, a small shadowy figure descended upon him. While Brute braced for impact, it only grazed him. As he looked back to his hand, the bag was gone.

“Why you little…” Brute saw movement from a similar figure on top of a metal crate, he lifted the crate and tipped it sideways, causing the figure to lose their balance and fall down the steep angle he created. As the small figure hit the concrete, they let out a pathetic yelp of pain as they began to nurse their ankle. As Lieutenant and Brute drew closer, they were able to identify the figure. A turtle child — about 9 — wearing a ratty black ski mask with orange accents and a threadbare swamp green cloak.

“Great, you hurt a child.” Lieutenant said unenthusiastically as, against his better judgment, he drew closer. “I’m sorry about my co-leader, he’s a bit of an idiot.” This made the turtle boy bite back his tears and laugh lightly, before his eyes welled up again. Lieutenant examined the turtle boy’s foot, putting light pressure on different areas to see what triggered the biggest reaction. “tsk, tsk. This doesn’t look great. Do you know anyone who can help you?” The turtle boy shook his head. “You don’t have anywhere to go, do you?” Again, the turtle boy shook his head. “Hmm… I suppose we could make room for one more, what do you say, Foot Brute?”

Brute was confused at first by his sudden shift in character, then he saw the face Lieutenant flashed him and he suddenly understood “Sou- sounds fine. If that’s alright with our buddy over here.” The turtle boy lit up at the prospect. They practically saw stars in his eyes.

“What’s your name little guy?” Asked Foot Lieutenant.

“Mi- Michelangelo…”

“Well, Michelangelo. Welcome to the team.” Said Foot Brute.

Ever since that day, Michelangelo was brought under the wing of the Foot Clan, training with other recruits and completing missions. Whether it was stealing paper, or a priceless artifact, he was up for it. He’d been given the nickname ’Fireball’ for his flashy style of fighting, which stood out especially with his main other skill being stealth. He was the best at stealth in the whole Foot Clan by far, so he rarely got to put his fireball tendencies to use, which killed him. Though, that would all change with a very special mission. Resurrecting ‘The Shredder’.

Chapter Text

Yoshi sat silently in his cell, thinking over all the decisions which lead him to this point. Leaving to pursue film instead of preparing for a mythical boogeyman. Check. Meeting and falling in love with someone who was obviously a spider. Check. Becoming her champion in the battle arena she also happened to run. Check. Renouncing fighting and ending up here…

check.

He opened his eyes and drew them across the empty grey room. Well, not entirely empty. Yoshi spotted a rat scurrying across the floor, scouring for scraps of food. The rat spotted him and they made eye contact for a second, then the rat charged for him. Yoshi yelped as he jumped up and ran a few feet from where the rat landed. The rat then readjusted itself and charged for him again. This time, Yoshi kicked the rat as it approached him, sending it flying a few feet. The rat froze. He walked closer to it and inspected it.

“You ok, little fella?” The rat then sparked back to life and bit Yoshi around his ankle “Yow! Why you little…” the rat then quickly scurried off into a crack in the wall. “Aye aye aye…”

Yoshi’s attention shifted as he heard the metal door unlock. As it opened, he saw Big Mama’s right hand henchmen enter, wheeling in a cart. One reached under it and retrieved a dish with steak and potatoes. He laid it on top of the cart and wheeled it towards Yoshi. Before exiting, he pulled a folding chair from underneath and haphazardly kicked it open, placing it next to him. Only then did he and the other two leave.

Yoshi sat down in the chair and inspected his food. No poison. No bugs. No threats written on heart shaped post-its. All clear. He cut a piece off the steak, and just as he did, the cart collapsed. “Great…” Yoshi groaned as he reached to retrieve what of his food hadn’t skid on the floor. As his hand hovered over the plate, the rat seemed to materialize out of nowhere, and before Yoshi even knew what happened, the rat had the steak firmly in the grasp of his teeth. “Hey! You give that ba-… never mind, keep it.” Yoshi groaned, his voice filled with distain for the creature.

As the rat disappeared from sight and slid into his hole, Yoshi noticed something. They never closed the door. Yoshi looked around the barren room for confirmation before striding towards the door. As soon as his hand reached the door’s frame, a large figure peered in, blocking his access “Why hello,”

“Big Mama,” his voice was even, but unmistakably filled with rage he didn’t bother hiding. “Y’know, I miss when you called me Barbara,” Big Mama lamented with a slightly sinister grin. “Well, I see no use in calling you a name that isn’t yours,” he responded coolly “As far as I’m concerned, Barbara died the moment you revealed your true self,” his eyes were fixed on hers, constantly focused on channeling his rage to prevent his gaze from softening. “Anywhoodles, how are we feeling about rejoining my fantabulosious Battle Nexus whizbang?” Big Mama asked. “Same answer as before,” responded Yoshi. “That really is too bad, you’re a crowd favourite!” Beamed Big Mama with a twinge of malice. Big Mama began to turn and soon left Yoshi’s line of sight. Once she did, the door slammed shut.

Yoshi turned and found the cart gone, one of her henchmen must’ve grabbed it. He returned to his spot on the floor and started to meditate. When he was young and lived with his grandfather, he was always forced to do this with him. Something about tapping into mystic energy? In any case, he saw his grandfather do it whenever he felt stressed, and while he never got into it, Yoshi thought it was worth a try considering his situation.

He closed his eyes, sitting completely still. He stayed like that for a while, sure longer than he ever thought he could. Then, after about half an hour, he immediately began to relax, it was almost like magic. He suddenly felt almost at peace with his situation. As this was happening, he heard two small thuds, then he heard the door open. “You’re comin’ with us bro, give us any lip and we’ll mess you up big time,”

He responded in a more calm and levelheaded voice he almost didn’t recognize. “If Big Mama sent you, tell her I have not changed my mind, no more fighting, I have sworn off violence,”

“Oh, we’re not from Big Mama, our boss just wants to use you in weird, unsafe experiments,” another voice spoke, he looked up to find two scrawny looking winged creatures. He sized up their… I guess you could call it an offer. Their boss was probably some deranged lunatic, or worse, warrior alchemist. Going with them would practically be bundled with danger. Though, it had been a while since he’d seen the sun… “As long as I don’t have to fight,” he decided. The small creatures then gathered at his shoulders and picked him up.

After a really long time (in Yoshi’s opinion) they reached what looked to be a castle, and Yoshi was placed in a small cell made of vine like binds. Yoshi looked over curiously at a blue box next to him, just outside the cage, it housed four turtles. He gently picked one up. “Why, aren’t you cute? I will call you Green!” He grabbed another, “And you… Green Number Two!… how can I tell you turtles apart?”

“Ah… the great Lou Jitsu. Your warrior prowess is legendary.” A sheep man marvelled as he drew closer. “My fighting days are behind me, I will never harm another creature” he said coolly, picking up Green Number Two. He’d planned on kissing him gingerly on the head, but Green Number Two bit his lip. “Yow! Why you little-“ he scolded the turtle. “Fighting will not be needed, only your innate genetic gifts…”

Yoshi watched as purple vines sprung from the ground and grabbed hold of the turtles, placing them into yellow spheres above his head. He listened as the sheep explained how he planned to turn those innocent creatures into killing machines. “I know I said I’d never fight again… but…” as Yoshi was about to break loose from his cell, a loud crash echoed through the halls, he turned and saw Big Mama completely enraged. She and her minions began laying waste to the laboratory, knocking things over and wrecking general havoc. Before Yoshi could even process what was happening, a large explosion overtook the lair as the vines which held him captive recoiled. He fell the whole way down, but sustained no major damage. He watched as a turtle crawled out the hole left by Big Mama and her goons, as another spiralled into a sewage pipe, and as one got stuck in the rubble. He rushed to help the trapped turtle, but saw as Big Mama lifted up the last, flashing it a toothy smile.

And ran.

Chapter Text

He was sent flying by an explosion in the distance. As he landed, he began to spiral on the damp stone floor. He eventually slipped between a grate, and barrelled down the sewer pipe it covered. He spent at least a few hours fighting to keep his head above the sewer current, and eventually rocketed out of the other side of the pipe.

He coughed and surveyed his current surroundings. He’d ended up in a junkyard. Full of sharp metals, exposed nails, and rust. This wasn’t the ideal place for a baby turtle.

For months he’d done the best he could, scavenging for scraps and whatever food he could. It was difficult, especially considering how tiny and vulnerable he was. To this day, he still doesn’t know how he’d done it. Until one day.

It had been business as usual for him that day, he was sorting through the trash for anything (remotely) edible, when he saw a group of about eight approaching the junkyard. He drew in close — hoping he could snag something off of one of them — but drew too close. The small hill of garbage he’d propped himself onto caved and he rolled into the middle of their discussion.

“Spy!” One shouted as a knee jerk reaction, and pulled out a gun, which he pointed at the turtle.

“Toby, that’s a child,” a tired voice said, like she’d had to deal with this many times before. “Oh yeah…” Toby laughed sheepishly. The turtle looked up to find two yellow snakes bickering, five green ones just in the distance, and a red dragon bending over to pick him up.

“Where did you come from?” The dragon asked with a menacing voice which echoed through the junkyard. Though it seemed he was trying to be compassionate. After a few seconds of looking around, the dragon spoke “This is no place for a child to be, and I don’t see anyone looking for you…” he thought for a moment “How about you come with us?” A green snake tried to interject, but the dragon shut her down “I’ve made up my mind. Welcome to the family,

Raphael.”

Chapter Text

Donatello tinkered away on his newest project, switching between saudering, coding, and 3d modelling. He’d been doing this for the past few hours, and continued to do so, until he heard a knock on his door. He immediately stood, out of habit, and opened it.

One of the hotel’s bellhops entered “Big Mama requests your attendance for dinner,”

“When?”

“Now,”

“I’ll be there.” He watched the bellhop leave, and only when he was out of sight, did he show his discomfort. He hated to leave a project in the middle, he would’ve rather just dedicated all his time and resources to it until it’s done. But he couldn’t. He put on something more presentable than the pyjamas he hadn’t bothered to change (it was his day off after all!) and walked to the dining room.

“Ah, turtley-boo!” Big Mama, in her humanoid form, greeted Donatello.

“Hi… Mama.”

“Sit, sit, sit!” She gestured to the long table. He did as instructed and noticed a sheep yokai sitting on the other side of it. He sat closer to Big Mama and surveyed him.

He spoke “So… this is your ‘prized champion’? Your ‘Battle Nexus savant’?”

“Now, Draxy, don’t start-“

“You stole the project all the research I’d ever done built up to, so I’ll start if I want. Give it back you conniving little garden snake!” he shifted from a steely cool demeanor to red hot with rage. He leapt over the table, attempting to grab her. Once his hand was mere inches away from her neck, two guards snatched him by the arms. “Ooh, I see only one of us splendiferocious minds sought to unifitify against a dreadful common enemy after all, sheepy-poo. You asked me for my assistance, now you want my most powerful advantage, how’s about we pick one, okay? Otherwise, I have a just charmulicious cell with your troublesome little name on it,” she then directed her attention to Donatello. Who at this point, was nervously tapping his arm with uncertainty for how exactly he was to approach the situation, if at all. “Donatello, deary, would you do Mama a favour and eat in your room until I’ve attended to this business?”

He quickly nodded and returned to his room with the plate of food — completely untouched apart from a few stabs of his fork. He set the plate down on his desk and continued working on his project. He hadn’t really had an appetite in the first place, so he was content with letting it sit there while he sifted through his code for errors. After about an hour, he finished it, but noticed the arguing between Big Mama and that sheep persisted.

He knew a lot of people thought a lot of things about his Mama, and he also knew that a lot of those things were true. He stood from his desk and walked to one of the vast one sided windows in his room and looked out of it. He thought to himself “Like the city, she can be dark, cruel, and dangerous, but when I look at it from up here, almost all I see is a beautiful view,” Donatello thought back to as far as his mind would let him “She saved me. If she didn’t have a heart, I sure as hell wouldn’t be here.” A fuzzy memory appeared in his mind, he was flown across a room by some sort of explosion, as he was about to fall the great distance his trajectory set for him, he was caught by a large claw, he was brought up to its owner’s face and received a smile. “No, she’s not all bad,”

He noticed some movement from the bottom of his window, while he usually would just ignore it, this time it snagged on his curiosity. He brought down his goggles which were resting on his head, and used them to zoom in on the suspect. He found someone fighting off some of Big Mama’s guards. (After taking control of this district, Big Mama flooded the streets with them). His interest only grew, he zoomed in even more until he could see the person’s face. With the realization he stumbled back from the window in shock.

“A human!”

Chapter Text

Mara came to the meeting point, a dark and damp alleyway under the only streetlamp lit — the rest there would’ve been, if they weren’t smashed. She saw a face appear under the light, a short, scruffy rabbit. In a blue getup with a Nexus Mob patch.

“You ‘ave it?” She asked the rabbit. He nodded in response, and held up a briefcase. Mara glanced up to the roof, finding the silhouette of her little brother. “Open it up bunnyboy,” she prodded, the rabbit seemed hesitant, then slowly opened it. “Well, I’ll be. You did good bunnyboy…genuine Empyrian.” She marvelled. He cleared his throat in annoyance, clearly sensing she was stalling. “Alright. I gottit I gottit,” she leaned to her bag and threw out a smokebomb, which filled the alleyway with claustrophobic green fog. Her little brother swooped in and grabbed the rabbit by his collar, silently bringing a cloth to his mouth, which knocked the rabbit out in an instant.

As the smoke cleared, Mara smirked at him, then the two of them tied up the rabbit and carted him into their family van (decked out to look like a delivery truck), and they drove back home.

“Y’know, maybe one a ‘ese days we could do a honest transaction?” Mara teased as the both of them laughed, grinning shamelessly.

“Maybe when it ain’t profitable… or if Ma worries…” spoke up Leonardo.

“In the case of da second, we just be more secretive,” Mara joked “Wonder just how much Big Mama’s willin’ ta pay for ol’ bunnyboy here,”

“Better be worth all the trouble we went through ta abduct ‘im,” Leonardo chuckled, retrieving a wad of gum from his mouth and sticking it on the roof.

Mara parked the car in its usual spot, then the two made their way to the van’s trunk. They took the rabbit each in one arm and shuffled into Run of the Mill Pizza. The place had its usual smell of pizza and cheap cologne. They stayed out of the way —purposely trying not to be noticed — though that effort was fruitless, as they were approached by-

“Hueso!” Leonardo greeted (a little too enthusiastically).

“Stripes! Mara! You’re just the people I wanted to see—…“ he looked over at the unconscious rabbit in their arms, “So… you did it again…” he said in a voice that made the two wince. “Well, I see that you’re busy. Attend to that and come back when you can,” they looked at each other in pleasant surprise, then shrugged. They then proceeded up the stairs to their home, dragging the rabbit up the whole way.

At the top of the stairs there were two doors; one which lead to a janitorial closet, and the other which lead to their family apartment. Leonardo used his free hand to shuffle through the pocket of his cargo pants, and after a solid minute of struggle, retrieved a key ring. He picked out a particularly rusty key, and inserted it into the door of the janitor’s closet. After opening it wide, him and Mara heaved the rabbit into it. After, they locked the door again, picked another key, and used it to open their apartment door. Once inside—

“Took you long enough,” rasped their Mom, Beverly Smeerin, “You got da stuff?”

“A fancy briefcase wortha Empyrian, ya, ya, gottit,” boasted Leonardo with faux annoyance. Beverly sized up the two for a second, then dropped the act and gave them a rib crushing hug. “The two a ya really know how ta make your Ma worry,”

“Well, we try,” joked Mara. Then, the two of them dipped out of the kitchen into their shared room, where they opened their closet’s door and then a smaller door on the inside — Which they installed when they started the whole ransom thing. “I can sort this out on my own, go chat with Ma if you want,” whispered Leonardo. Mara nodded eagerly, and left before her brother could change his mind.

Leonardo sifted through the key ring still in his hand, choosing a small copper key which he twisted into the door.

Chapter Text

Here I am, tied to a rope — a little weak to be comfortable, considering it’s the only thing keeping me from the ground. I inch closer as I’m lowered to a pedestal holding up a box. I snatch it, then Casey lifts the rope in quick bursts to the skylight I came in through.

“Got it Fireball?” Casey asks with a kind of urgency.

“Yep,” I flash her a smile and the box I grabbed. “Mint condition Lou Jitsu Punk-o figure,” I toss it to her and she shoves it in her duffel bag. We then jump from the various rooftops, until reaching an abandoned brick building. We slide down the roof and descend the rickety fire escape on the building’s side, ending up at a wooden door that looks like it might just collapse with the amount of rot seeping into it. I take a few steps away from the door and frame the spot with my hands “What’re you doing?!” Casey barks with the same urgent irritation “Thinking of tagging this spot later, what do you think?” I ask with a smug toothy grin “Yes, yes, it’s fine. Can we go now?!” Casey asks, clearly fed up with me “Okay, okay, fine.” I retrieve a small trinket from my cloak pocket and draw an M on the door, it lights up and as I turn the knob, a swirling portal appears on the other side.

We walk through into the bustling Hidden City Market, full of scummy salespeople and a smell I can’t quite place, but makes me nauseous nonetheless. Me and Casey squish through the crowds until reaching an empty stone stairwell, squished uncomfortably between two of those shops with houses on top. We shuffle down the slim cool steps a long ways before reaching our destination. The Crying Titan.

“Race you!” I yelp to Casey as I dash towards the Foot Clan Dojo.

“Wha-“ she stops in surprise, then adopts a devilish smile and runs toward the same target in strides. We speed through the steep steps leading up to the dojo, until I tap the large double doors and immediately throw up my hands and celebrate. As Casey walks up to the doors I gloat “Woo-oo I did it, I did and you didn’t!” I chant as Casey scowls. I see her face shift to mortified as Foot Lieutenant — or as I call him, Lieu —clears his throat. I whip my head around and find him inside the dojo, which now has its door opened “I’m so sorry—“ I start.

“Cassandra,” Lieu scowls as she bows “You are Michelangelo’s superior in age, must you set such a poor example?” I interject “It was my i—“ he turns to me “Yet she went along with it,” Casey stands “It will never happen again,” Lieutenant waves his hand “Go,” she nods and disappears inside the dojo.

“Why’d you do that? We were just racing! Plus, it was my ide—“ Lieutenant sighs “If any of our enemies saw your little stunt, ANY of them! Do you think they’d hold us in a fraction of the regard they do?! This is an establishment built on fear. If nobody’s afraid of you, you lose all influence. As for Cassandra, she knows this, she knows she’s a role model of sorts to you, yet she still went along,” I still think she didn’t deserve that… but I guess that makes sense “…Okay, I understand,” he puts a hand on my shoulder “Great. Now, go along and train,” I nod and enter the dojo.

In the dojo there’s a main room, and four hallways around each corner which split into separate buildings. The main room’s filled with clan members and recruits, as well as the equipment they use to train. As I walk over, I see Casey’s bag. The figure! I completely forgot to turn it in. I go to it, shuffle through, and retrieve the box. I look briefly and find Foot Brute — or Brutey, as I call him — walking towards one of the halls. Perfect! I walk towards him, but he quickly ducks into the door at the end of it. Shoot. Oh well… I guess it can wait. As I’m about to turn, a tall figure approaches the hallway. Instinctively, I jump up to a ceiling beam and hold onto it as the figure passes underneath me. They look to be a sheep yōkai. As soon as I’m sure they’re on the other side of the door, I begin to climb down. Wait… I’ve never seen them before, and they couldn’t be a new recruit, definitely too old for that. Lieu and Brutey tend to recruit people around my age… I’ll just… take a quick look at what’s going on. I quietly hop between ceiling beams and poke at the tall door until it’s opened wide enough for me to quickly leap onto a large cabinet next to the door.

“Though, I’ll need help to retrieve the rest of the pieces,” says the sheep.

“Hmmm…” ponders Lieu “Out of the kindness of our hearts, we will give you the recourses and manpower needed to assemble the armor,” Lieu says smugly. “What’s in it for you?” Asks the sheep, “well, since you asked… advanced weapons, maybe utilizing mystic technology?” The sheep thinks for a moment “I’ll start first thing tomorrow,” Lieu responds“And we will once you’ve finished, then I think we’ll have a deal on our hands… Baron Draxum,” the two shake hands and this Draxum guy leaves.

Chapter Text

Pant dread fills my entire body pant as I sprint away pant I run as fast as I can pant but they seem to only pant get closer.

I stop.

“You abandoned me…” a voice says in a hollow sing-song voice. I turn, and find a small turtle. The turtle grows. Slowly and grotesquely it turns into a disfigured monster “You made me like this…” it booms in a deformed sinister voice. It charges at me and as I brace for impact.

I wake up.

I look around and adjust to my surroundings. A rickety old king bed… a floor covered in various papers and empty bottles… a hotel room. I swing my feet off the bed and try to put my weight on them. Agh… my head is killing me… I drag my feet along the shabby carpet as I piece together the night before… a party… my party. To be honest I expected more of a mess than this. I wasn’t supposed to stay this long, but I guess I can make do. I grab the few things I brought, put on a hoodie and sunglasses, slip on my shoes, and walk out of the room. I go through the door leading to the pool and leave through the door connecting the pool area to the street.

Ring once outside I reach in my bag and grab my phone. It’s my agent. “Ey, Yosh! Listen, I know these last few years you’ve fallen off… but I got something big. Meet me at Mirage coffee stat!” Silence… Hmmmm… when I first disappeared — at least to my human audience — they cared at first, but once I was gone for almost a year they just assumed I died and carried on with their lives. When I eventually came back the interest in my movies had almost completely died out, I couldn’t get anyone on board for my projects, and I couldn’t get on board anyone else’s… so I did what ever other disgraced movie star does, coasted off whatever remaining credibility I had and blew my money on who knows what. But if this is serious… like a real chance to reset the status quo… then there’s no way I can pass on it.

I take off in a rush towards the coffee shop. After stumbling through streets and narrowly missing a few hotheaded taxi drivers, I end up inside, where I see my manager at a small table close to the entrance.

“You look terrible,” he chuckled, gesturing for me to sit.

“You aren’t looking too great yourself,” I retort, “Not exactly aging with beauty, are you, Bebop?” I smirk. “Well, well, I digress… anyways, like I said, big news! Ya herda that Jupiter Jim movie they’ve had in the works for years?” I stare blankly “… OH, yes, yes. I know, of course!…” I lie through my paper white teeth, “Well, it’s really been through the wringer, script changes, new directors. You name it, this movie’s gone through five of ‘em,” Bebop twirls the toothpick clamped between his teeth “So?” He grins “So… they’re desperate. As of yesterday they just lost their most recent director, if you waltz in there and turn it into something worth watching, suddenly you’ll have a lotta more eyes on ya,” I ponder this “And… this is something people want to see?” He chuckles “Of course! Jupiter Jim’s massive! People’ve been anticipating this movie since before it was announced,”

“What do I have to do?” He chuckles “Wait,” I give him a questioning look, and as if on cue, a man walks through the door. “Ey, Rocky! Over here!” Bebop waves him over and he sits. “This is Ed Rocksteady, good friend who works on the movie… and owed me a favour,”

“So… you’re Lou Jitsu?…” Ed asks, “Because I am such a fan! It really is an honour Mr. Jitsu!” He stands up and shakes my hand fiercely “Just… Yoshi’s fine,” I say, trying to stay composed in spite of everything. He suddenly freezes and adopts a sort of a poker face as he sits back down “Now, on to business. Tomorrow we’re filming on the corner of Eastman and Laird, show up at 8 AM on the money and try feeling out the scene, if you do a good enough job, you’re hired,” I trace the perimeter of an empty glass with my finger as I respond “A little unorthodox, don’t you think?” He chuckles with a tired sigh “Well, with what remaining resources we have, orthodox isn’t really on the table,” I nod “I understand… see you then,” with a grin Ed shuffles to the door “Oh, and for the love of God wear something more presentable!” He jokingly pleads as he opens the door “No promises,” I smirk as he leaves.

Yes!

Chapter Text

✨lore✨

In this rise timeline, the Hidden City (HC) has 3 different districts, each run by a gang;

The Makers of Brutality (the M.O.B.):

Run by Boss Beverly, Mara (an oc), and Leonardo mainly, but they often hire various freelance criminals (assassins and whatnot) to make their operation seem larger than it is. As it stands, their district is where HC residents go to get their wares, as it’s mainly filled with markets and stores, the M.O.B. takes a 30% cut of the revenue of all residents in this area (minus Hueso, since they live above his pizzeria). 

the Foot Clan:

Run by Foot Brute and Foot Lieutenant, all residents in their district are Foot recruits and clan members (previous residents who didn’t want to join were shipped off to the Battle Nexus — something Big Mama still owes them for — and those who resisted were made an example of). Their district is the smallest, being located in what used to be Crying Titan National Park.

Big Mama’s Nexus Mob:

Run by the infamous Barbara ‘Big Mama’ Marie, the Nexus Mob is the largest and most influential gang of the bunch. It takes up more than half of the city, with the main landmark being the Nexus Hotel. This is because of the famous Battle Nexus, which is both a fun time for the wealthy, and a bad time for whoever Barbara managed to get her hands on. While it’s called a hotel, that’s only partially the case, while it is a popular tourist destination for yokai from other places (especially from 隠された都市, เมืองที่ซ่อนอยู่, La ciudad oculta, and La città nascosta) — yes, there’s also more than one Hidden City — it’s also an apartment complex for wealthy full time residents. This district is also home to all schools, hospitals, and companies apart from stores. There’s a strict curfew on the district (if you’re caught out past 6:00 pm you’re guaranteed to be a fighter in the Battle Nexus).

Chapter Text

I swing my fist forward and it’s caught almost immediately. My opponent holds onto it and spins me around them as I try to find my footing. She swiftly kicks me in the face, and as I double back from the blow, she send multiple punches towards my chest. With its approach, I grab her left fist and turn to my right with a spin, using the momentum to hurl her to the ground. She spins from the ground and sweeps my left leg, causing me to fall to her level. She leaps onto me and punches at my shell, I roll onto my back, pining her down. I try to get back to my chest and harness her more securely, only then do I notice the glimmer from the object in their hand; a large knife. I instinctively loosen my hold and she takes that chance to wriggle free and lunge again. I swiftly dodge, now standing. I retrieve my own knife and hold it foreword with my increasingly shaky hands. She lunges foreword… suddenly a memory — equally faint as it is familiar — flashes through my mind. The tiny space I was put into, my growing panic as it seemed to shrink, the pain as I shifted to something… unrecognizable… an explosion.

“NO!” Before I could even think, I just blurted it out.

“…Are you serious? The whole point of this stupid training thing your daddy dearest assigned me to was to get you less skittish with weapons, correct?”

“Yeah… but-“

“But what? I have better things to do than walk you through the bare minimum every step of the way y’know!”

“I- I… just don’t wanna hurt you.”

“Then this really is a waste of time.”

“…Sorry Cozbi.”

“Don’t apologize, it makes you seem weaker.”

“Sor—… okay…”

“I’ll do tomorrow’s practice, but if you can’t use a dinky knife by then, I give up.” She rasps sharply as she leaves.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Why do I have to be scared? Why? I throw my fist forward into a punching bag and continue to do so rapidly. She’s right, I should just get over it. it’s only a stupid little knife. Liraz’s half my age but she’s worth double in skill, Toby — for as paranoid as he is — never struggles with this kinda stuff, and Cozbi of course has to waste every morning trying to get me over this.

With my last punch, the bag flies off its mount and skids across the floor. Great. I walk over to attach the bag back on the ceiling, when a sharp object quickly glides into view, only stopping when it’s firmly nestled into the bag. A ninja star. As I look at it more closely, I read the words “Heya Giant!” crudely carved into it.

“Hiya!” I hear a chipper voice from above me. I look up and find Liraz hanging off of one of the ceiling beams above me. “Training didn’t go very good big guy?”

“Why are you asking? Knowing you, you were probably perched there the whole time.”

“True, true… but I thought I’d ask for posterity’s sake. Part of this whole politeness thing I’m trying, what a riot?” She’s now upside down, hanging on the upper part of the climbing rope. She swings down with a twirl until we’re at eye level (which is still a few feet up for her). “Anywhoodles, I’ve been thinking.”

“Dangerous!”

“You’re one to talk!… so! Maybe the thing that might make you less of a baby about weapons doesn’t lie within these walls? Maybe if you’re fighting a total stranger and there’s actual stakes, you might not care whether they get hurt?!”

“That sounds reckless, dangerous, and a recipe for getting us both grounded.”

“Great right! Plus, it sure beats disappointing dad and everyone… especially your lady crush!”

“WHA- you don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Sure…”

“And fine… what exactly should I do?”

“Come with me!”

She hops down and gestures that I follow, before scurrying excitedly. I trail her through the hallway, to the backdoor, then the alleyway it leads to. She hops up towards the dumpster and lifts the lid, revealing an —only slightly stained — map of the whole Nexus district. “Toby and me are running a job here!” She announces, circling a curb with her nubby talon. “And here…” she drags her talon along the map and circles somewhere nearby “This is where reinforcements would be coming from. So if you go there and fight them off as they come, it’ll buy us some time, Toby won’t notice, and you’ll get to fight in an actual environment.” I nod “we’re heading there about 5:30, we plan to go quick. Make sure you’re not out past curfew, got it?”

“Yeah of course. Thanks Raz.”

“No biggie Giant.”

Chapter Text

Beep! Beep! Beep!

I drowsily wake from a deep sleep. I look over and find the source of the beeping that woke me. My alarm clock… on the other side of the room. I more closely survey my own surroundings, and find I’m still sitting at my work bench. Great. I rub my face (having to peel off some scrap metal and small nails which nestled shallowly into it) and stand. I walk a few wobbly steps before throwing my hand limply over the clock and stopping it. Next I go back over to my bench and check my phone, on which it prominently displays a notification; “Day one of the Nexus Tournament, spectator”

I rush to my closest, pick out my ‘publicity’ suit, and hurry to get ready.

• Shower
• Change
• Brush teeth
• Etc

When I walk out of my room, I find Mama nowhere in sight. So, (after checking again) I make my way out of the penthouse and rush to the elevator. Once it reaches my intended floor, I slip into the kitchen. It’s as busy as ever, with carts rolled in and out, chefs barking out orders, and various dishes filtering through the room. In the commotion I grab a cupcake (intended for one of the high profile guests viewing the Nexus) and slip out just as quick as I came.

I go back into the elevator and go down a few more floors. When the doors open, they reveal a dark, long room lined with cells. I snoop around each one, most of the residents having a few choice words for me as I pass. Then I stop.

“You must be the human,”

She looks up “Let me go.”

“It’s okay, I’m not that chatty either,”

“Let me go.”

“We don’t exactly get a lot of humans, where did you come from?”

“…”

I let out a sigh and lift up the cupcake “I know you’re hungry. Just tell me what I wanna know and it’s yours,”

“…You probably poisoned it.”

“Why? So my Mother’s short one champion? You humans aren’t the brightest are you?”

She contemplates for a moment “New York.”

“What?”

“You wanted so know where I’m from so there, New York.”

“Hm… and how did you get here?”

“…I was taking out the trash at this pizza joint I work at — considering how long I’ve been gone, that’s ‘worked’ at — then the bottom of the unit kinda collapsed. I fell through and when I asked for directions I got sent here. Happy?”

“Not quite… I saw you, and you were causing quite a scene, a far cry from the peaceful traveler you claim to be,”

“Well I never said I went without a fight.”

“Do you even know what you’ve gotten yourself into?”

“A smelly cell?”

“Is the phrase ‘Battle Nexus’ ringing any bells?”

“…No?”

“Fascinating…”

“What are you getting at?”

“I figured tourism just wasn’t as much a thing for humans, I never once considered what exactly made this city hidden.” I toss over the cupcake and she lunges for it, sizing me up as she takes a bite. “And I’m afraid now I must depart, though I will soon return.” I check my watch ‘8:30’ and shift my walk to a sprint as I realize it’s a hour from the first event.

I practically lunge for the elevator as I belligerently press the penthouse button and the door inches closed “c’mon, c’mon, c’mon…” I mutter until the elevator actually bothers to start its ascent. When I’ve made it, I make a mad dash for the door and quietly swing it open (to the best of my ability).

“Turtley-boo!”

“Mama!” I say sheepishly as a take a large step from the door I just entered from.

“We better head downstairs to greet our fantabulous sponsors!”

“Yes Mama.”

Chapter Text

I slowly come to as I rise from my bed. It’s early. Perfect.

I painstakingly make sure I don’t wake up my sister, avoiding every screech and squeak I might make lowering myself from the top bunk above her. Once I’ve reached ground, I grab my key ring and start for the closet.

The stuff I knocked our hostage out with was way too strong. We use a homemade concoction that buys us more time rather than something like chloroform, but clearly we measured something wrong cos he’s been out for a few days, if he doesn’t wake up soon we’ll have to get him to a hospital so he doesn’t dehydrate or starve, but from what I’ve been able to tell he’s been fine thus far, normal pulse and whatnot.

I take a key and open the small door at the back of our closet, and crouch into a small space me and Mara decked out to look more official. We even set up a bed for the guy (we’re not monsters after all… entirely). I walk over to him and reach to feel his pulse, but when I do, his arm shoots up and he grabs me, sending me to the floor.

“What’s ya problem?!” I groan as I check my throbbing head for injury, to which I find a small bump already.

“What’s yours?!” He retorts in a mix of grogginess and anger.

“Okay, fair… but I asked ya first!”

“Well, my ‘problem’ is I may be a little cranky on account of being kidnapped and all!”

“Again, fair. But look on the bright side! You won’t be here long, granted you’re of value to the Nexus Mob and Big Mama but still!”

“Oh, so I’m a bargaining chip. Beats being a sacrifice, but you’d think a Battle Nexus champion such as myself would be above that,”

“Woah, woah, I ‘ad no idea I was in tha presence o’ a celebrity! Oh you definitely won’t ’ave ta worry about stickin’ round!” I see a flash of something in his eyes, is that… panic? Before I can really read it, it’s long disappeared.

“I guess not. So how do you plan to do this? Just call up Big Mama and ask for stuff?”

“Whaaat? Of course no— actually dat’s pretty much it…”

“And… that works?”

“Has for a while now.”

“Why?”

“Well when rich people are desperate they have less of a hard time parting wi—“

“I mean why do you do it? You’re ‘Stripes’, correct?”

“In the green flesh, you might just get an autograph if you ask nice enough,”

“Why did you decide the most fulfilling thing you could be doing with your time was holding innocent people for ransom?”

“Ha, ha… you’re funny. You’re not innocent! Not in the slightest!”

“I was in that situation.”

“Maybe it was karma, maybe all da people who died at ya hands ‘ave been hauntin’ you, bankin’ on dis ta happen. But who’s ta say?” I flash him a devilish smirk that I can tell really gets under his skin.

“I- I- I…”the rabbit’s face is totally pale as he’s trying to find the words to prove me wrong.

“Aw wat’s da matter? Poor baby can’t speak?” My comment elevates his anger to the point he’s red as a tomato.

“Shut up.”

“Clever.”

“I SAID-“

“Well, well. Looks like Bunny Boy’s up.” Mara walks into the room with a grin smirk on her face.

“I already told ‘im everything.”

“DAMMIT LEO!” She huffs “I guess you don’t need me or anythin’.”

“Ehh, not really.”

With another huff, she leaves.

The rabbit looks at me, a smug expression replacing his anger almost entirely “So… Leo.”

A wave of anger hits me and before I can think I’ve slapped him across the face. “You are so!… oh… my gosh. I didn’t mean—“ he swings at me and I feel white hot pain hit my plastron. Then again. Then again. I would call for my sister, but I know all that will come out is a pathetic sob. I grab the side of his head and I push him towards the floor, I let go and before he can grab for something, he hits the hard wood floor. While I have an advantage, I grab a pair of handcuffs cuffed to the bed frame (I was originally going to put them on him to begin with, but it’s been difficult with him conscious) and while he’s still on the ground, I put his hands behind him and connect them in one fell swoop.

I again place him on the bed with a dark glare on my face. “Now, remember. You’re da one trapped ‘ere, and I can’t ‘ave you come out of dis better than I ‘ave.”

A glint of fear is now prominently displayed in his eyes as he looks at the damage he’s caused me, as I swing a punch of my own, he pleads “Please, I’m sorry, I’ll tell you anything you want to know, anything.”

“Hm… well, is there anything of value?”

“…” he debates with himself on weather he should share it “I can help you pull an even bigger job.”