//------------------------------// // Diminishing Hope PT 1 // Story: Equestria Ninja Girls Shining Digital Alliance // by WarriorofFaith18 //------------------------------// It was a quiet day, except in the lair. Cody was practicing with Leo on sword play while Gamer was sparring with Karai. Cody swung his practice sword and clanged against Leo’s. “I’m impressed Cody. You’re really good with the sword.” Leo grinned. “You should see my grandpa.” Cody panted. “But you shouldn’t use so much energy so quickly. Try to conserve it should tide turn.” “Of course.” Cody nodded. Meanwhile, Gamer was able to keep up with Karai as they clashed. As they were in a lock with their blades, Karai spoke. “Your brother has trained you well. Haven’t had this much fun since April.” “Glad to impress. I had other good teachers as well.” Gamer grinned. Suddenly, Karai sweep kicked him on his back and had her sword at his throat. “However, you’re still young. Despite your intelligent brain, you can be a little naïve. Always keep an eye on your blind spots. But I still see potential in you.” Karai grinned before she put her tanto blade away and helped the kid up. “Your advice….. is logical.” Gamer agreed as he was catching his breath while Karai patted his back. As the four practiced, Sunset, Twilight, Spike, Davis, Armadillomon, and Veemon with Chompy on his head were watching from the side. “Atta boy, Cody! Looking good!” Armadillomon cheered. "I'm really impressed." Sunset smiled. “They’re both doing great.” Twilight observed. Just then, Shine Boy entered the dojo. “I’m back!” Leo nodded. “Okay! Let’s take a break, everyone!” As everyone stopped their practices as they gathered and set up trays while Shine Boy emptied a bag with drinks. “Okay, I got prune juice, as requested by Cody, orange juice, green tea, and extra water.” He then looked around. “Where’s everyone else?” “Rarity and April are hanging out at the mall with Yolei. Mikey and Shini are at Central Park with Fluttershy, Pinkie, T.K., and Kari. Casey and Raph are showing Rainbow, Applejack, Love Shine, Shine Girl, and Ken the hockey stadium. Donnie is in his lab with Fugitoid and Andromon.” Sunset listed off. “I promised Raph I’d watch Chompy for him.” Veemon smiled as he gave Chompy a little drink of his juice. “I was bored so I stuck around here.” Davis yawned. “I tried to play a little soccer before Metalhead popped the ball, saying no soccer in the lair.” "Sensei wouldn't have been as merciful." Leo pointed out. As they enjoyed their drink, Cody spoke up. “Ms. Karai, could I ask you and Shine Boy a question?” “Go ahead, Cody, and just Karai is fine.” “Right. My apologies. Anyway, How did you two meet?” Shine Boy and Karai looked at each other. then Shine Boy spoke. “You wanna go first?” “I can start.” Karai nodded. “It all started after Father used the Healing Hands to remove the mind worm out of my head. I wanted Shredder to pay for using me as well as lying to me about my mother. I thought about usurp his leadership of the Foot Clan. Then I remembered a hired assassin who once worked for the Shredder. His name is Diminish. He hunts for sport. I found out his last location was in Omaha, so I snuck on a plane to find him.” Shine Boy continued. “I, on the other hand, had to find Diminish for break ins and robberies. I was tipped that he was hiding in Omaha, so I went find him.” (Flashback) It was night in Omaha as Shine Boy jumped from building to building. He then stopped as he looked at the horizon. “According to the scopes, I should be close to Diminish’s last location.” He said to himself. Before he left, he saw a girl dressed in black jumping off buildings not far from him. She seemed to be in such a hurry to notice Shine Boy as he saw her leaving. Who’s that, he thought? Seems to be going my way, though. Soon enough, Karai arrived at a club and smashed through a window, causing a commotion. Soon, she faced a certain thug wearing a pricless earing. “Nice ring. How much did it cost you to keep quiet?” More thugs tried to gang up on Karai, but the ninja girl was too fast and immobilized them quickly and grabbed the thug by the collar before he could escape. “Where’s Diminish?” She growled. “I ain’t telling you nothing!” The thug hissed back. Karai then pulled her tanto out and held it at the thug’s throat. “I-I don’t know. He just asked me where the warehouse district was and paid me this earring! I swear!” “That’s enough.” Shine Boy walked up and put his hand on Karai’s shoulder. “I think you got your answer.” Karai only responded by kicking Shine Boy in the gut, sending him flying back. “I don’t know who you are but stay out of this!” As Karai had her back turned, the thug pushed her long enough for him to escape. Karai tried to chase him only to have to catch a boomerang like weapon thrown by Shine Boy. “Listen. If you value your life, you’ll just turn around and leave! I’m not in the mood for games!” She warned the guy. “Look. I don’t want to hurt you. But I won’t stand aside as you torture people who aren’t worth it!” Shine Boy glared. “Well, your mistake.” Karai charged at Shine Boy, who dodged her sword swings. He then was able to pin her to the ground. “Are you calm now? Can we talk like human beings?” he sternly said. His answer was in the form of Karai turning into her snake form which startled Shine Boy as Karai threw him through the wall. “Is this how you deal with rejections?” he joked as he climbed up the fire escape up the building as she followed him in hot pursuit. After a bit of a struggle, Karai wrapped her tail around Shine Boy and started to squeeze him. “You have made a grave mistake!” She hissed as she prepared to strike him before she felt a shock. She then noticed Shine Boy was using a taser to shock her, causing her to lose her grip on him. He was able to break free from her and used a smoke bomb to escape. Seeing he escaped, Karai reverted to human form and panted. “Who was that jerk? No mind. Gotta head to the wearhouse district to find Diminish.” Unknown to her, Shine Boy was hiding on the side of the building and heard everything. Soon, Karai was at the warehouse district and searched every corner for her target. She searched until a voice from the shadows spoke. “I’ve been expecting you.” Karai turned to find a figure wearing a black helmet, a mask, bladed elbow pads, shinguards, and had two Hanwei Scimitar Swords. “You are not the one I’m expecting.” Diminish glared. “But you are the one I’m looking for!” Karai smirked. “You are making a grave mistake, young lady.” Drawing her tanto, Karai charged at Diminish, only for him to block her sword with his. He then kicked her in the gut, causing her to back off. “I don’t know who you are or where you come from, but no one gets between Diminish and his prize!” Karai continued to battle Diminish. It seemed nothing she did could compete against the bounty hunter. She then got a hit in with a certain move of the Foot Clan. As he shook it off, Diminish realized who she was. “That move. It is the technique of The Foot Clan. Now I know who you are! You are Karai! Daughter of the Shredder!” Karai cringed. “Shredder is not my father! Not anymore.” “What? You rebelling?” Diminish taunted. “Too bad I ended my partnership with Shredder years ago. Otherwise, I’d teach you some manners.” After a moment to think, Diminish continued. “On second thought, since you spoiled my surprise for someone else, I’ll teach you manners right now.” Suddenly, another figure burst through another figure. It was Shine Boy. “Sorry, Diminish. Had to finish my homework.” He grinned. “Now that is who I was waiting for!” Diminish pointed to Shine Boy. “Not him again.” Karai growled. “I was expecting you sooner. I had to make do with this nuisance here.” Diminish pointed to Karai, who glared at him. “I’ll show you nuisance!” Karai charged at Diminish. Shine Boy joined the battle but the two were being beaten due to not working together. After bumping into each other, Karai grumbled at Shine Boy. “I told you to stay out of this!” “You have a real gratitude problem, you know that?” “And you like to put your life in danger!” “If it means it’ll help others, then yeah I do!” "I never needed your help!" "You're welcome!" "I'm NOT thanking you!" Shine Boy and Karai continued to argue that Diminish began to feel like they forgot he was there and got annoyed. He went to them and tapped Karai’s shoulder. “Excuse me?” “But out!” Karai smacked his hand away. “Okay I’ve had enough of this!” Diminish charged at Shine Boy, sending him flying into a nearby lake and starts to walk away. “Get back here!” Karai cried, giving chase. Karai was so upset she didn’t realize that Diminish was leading her to a construction site. She kept trying to fight him as he just toyed with her. He then threw a kunai at support beams, causing the dirt and gravel on top to fall on her, burying her. “Even if I didn’t kill my target, at least I defeated the so-called daughter of Shredder.” Diminish snickered as he walked away. Under the pile, Karai began to black out, unable to move and running out of air. She started to vision her family as she closed her eyes. Forgive me, Father. Mother, she thought. I have failed you. Suddenly, a hand grabbed hers and started to pull her out of the pile. When her head surfaced, she took a moment to catch her breath and cough. Able to breath again, she looked up to see her rescuer was none other than Shine Boy. “Hi.” He grinned. “Are you ready to talk like human beings?” Still out of breath, Karai nodded as Shine Boy continued to pull her out. “Um, Excuse Me?” (Pause Flashback) Everyone looked at Veemon, who raised his hand. “Sorry for interrupting, but can I get some popsicles?” “Sure. Go ahead.” Leo nodded. “Be right back. I don’t wanna miss a moment of this! C’mon, Chompy!” Chompy chortled in agreement as they left the dojo. “I think I’ll pop some popcorn while he’s getting that.” Davis added as he got up. “Top cupboard on the left!” Leo called. “And bring back some bowls while you’re at it.” Twilight added. So they waited as the two got their snacks. To Be Continued