The Leader Gave Me Hope: The First Book of the Freeformers Series

• Battling •

The screech hurt her ears.

As she tore at the armor the sound of her claws against metal made her shake her head back and forth. It seemed to work in ridding the noise, but it also took her focus off the adversary. Shredder grasped the scruff of Fae's neck, rolling backwards and sending his feet directly into her stomach, catapulting her away and rising again, ignoring the blood where she'd managed to graze his arm.

The moment she caught sight of Leo, and all the blood, and bumps, and the defeated look on his face, she had lost it, knowing the Shredder was to blame for it all. How dare he hurt him? Who was he to be inflicting that much pain on anyone?

She morphed, barely noticing the pain that trickled down her backbone as her feline ligaments and bones returned to normal. The bellow from behind made her dart behind Rocksteady, animalistic instincts compelling her to seek momentary refuge behind the clumsy mountain of muscle. She was right, and she cowered for a moment as Shredder attempted to evade the rhino's bulky form.

Leo was up. Out of his chains, the broken shackles still hanging from his wrists as he pulled her to him. Tears welled up in her eyes, seeing his swollen injuries about his face, staunching the blood still faintly trickling from the gash on his arm. And in the midst of the oncoming battle and despite the man that could skirt around his minion at any second and sink his blades into their flesh, the two embraced.

"I thought I'd never see you again," he whispered into her hair, memorizing every bit of her before she could escape his hold again. Her soft blonde strands, the marks along her shoulders, her frame hugged against them, her blue eyes that sparkled like morning skies.

"I'm not going anywhere," she murmured back, looking up at him with a beam that set everything right.

But like so many good things, the reunion was cut short.

Stupid evil ninja overlord.

Fae raced back out into the open to deal with Shredder, and Leo evaded the mutants that made a terrible attempt to restrain him.

Now back in leopard form, Fae hurled herself at Oroku Saki, her force enough to at least make him stumble back from Karai, who was still gulping in air like a fish out of water.

"Are you alright?" her voice echoed in the kunoichi's mind, and Karai gaped.

Fae had found, with Master Splinter's help, that enough concentration permitted communication while she was animalistic, without using her maw.

She'd known that she could do that for a while, actually. The first time she had morphed, she'd cried out to Leo mentally.

Not now. Not the time to reminisce.

"Yes," Karai croaked, reaching for her tanto.

Fae whipped her head back to the labyrinth of crates, where Foot Bots were beginning to pour in.

"Take care of the bots. Help the others," she told her. "I'll handle Shredder."

She was off running before the kunoichi could respond. Racing at full speed, she met the impressive force of Oroku Saki as he barreled toward her. His weapons were already out and swinging, and she barely had time to react. Though she managed to dodge, she growled as his knives left trails of crimson staining her fur. She whirled, a claw lashing out and trying to bash him. He sidestepped, vanishing before she could advance again.

Fae's ears twitched backwards, listening to the waves and the mutants fighting behind her and trying to sort out the many events barraging her senses.

A weapon was unsheathed behind her, and she dipped her head before the knife could detach her head from her body. Shredder was there again, and this time he decided on a punch as the best means of knocking her off balance. Fae yowled, shying from the fists that had left bruises along her side in mere seconds.