8103/City Fall: Zoo Aftermath

City Fall: Zoo Aftermath
Date of Scene:	29 June 2019
Location:	Turtle Lair
Synopsis:	Alopex and Pippi learn of what happened between Leonardo and Nemean
Cast of Characters:	Alopex, Pippi, Leonardo
Tinyplot:	City Fall

---

Alopex has posed:
    Training! It's something that helps people get better at things. Right? Of course. So, if katas help with form, but you find yourself stumbling sometimes, it may help to work on balance. As a result, Alopex has been showing Pippi a few poses. Sometimes one arm, sometimes an awkward position, but all of it is to try and help the pup understand her center of balance and how to maintain it.

Pippi has posed:
    And Pippi had been working with the Turtles' fearless leader in Alopex's absence at her katas, and has improved! Somewhat because boredom breeds the need to move, and kata was at least movement. Right now, Pippi had cinder blocks around her wrists, two on one side, one on the other, throwing her physically off balance. She's also blindfolded, making it even more difficult to keep balance based on sight as she works on not only her balance, but also being aware of where her arms were -- being hit with cinderblock corners wasn't comfy, even if you could lift more than a ton.

Alopex has posed:
    This position, and the cinderblocks, may seem a little intense, but they are important due to the amount of strength Pippi possesses. At first, the pup's balance seemed really good when standing still, but some of the trouble with katas was proving otherwise. Something was needed to try and offset the pup's balance, and well, Alopex worked with what she had. At least she was making sure Pippi was alright with each change. "Still alright?"

Pippi has posed:
    And Cinderblocks were cheap and easily available!

    "M'okay!" Pippi replies, and she shifts one foot ahead of the other, adjusting her hand a little bit as she stretches her fingers out, shifting her tail again as she draws her other hand down, snagging the cinderblock on her shirt, feeling it bounce slightly against her. She overcorrects here, lifting her other arm up too much instead of dropping, and gives a YIP! of alarm when she begins bouncing on one foot, backwards, clumsily!

Alopex has posed:
    Alopex gives a wince, reaches out to grab one of Pippi's shoulder's to steady her, then pulls her arm back. "You're doing well considering the .. adaptations I had to make." She considers, glances to one side, then back, "And if you're getting hungry or anything just let me know."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi's rebalanced, and she slooowly sets her arms down, letting the cinderblocks CLUNK to the floor before she sticks out her tongue.

    It's a vibrant shade of Slurpee Blue.

    "I think I've had enough."

Alopex has posed:
    The fox tilts her head at the odd color, but moves around behind Pippi to remove the blindfold and untie the cinderblocks for her. "That's fine. I was starting to think we were reaching enough for one session today." Beat. "So ... been enjoying Donatello's adjustment to the fridge?"

Pippi has posed:
    "Slurpees should not be a foodgroup of their own, 'Pex." Pippi replies, from experience. "Yeech."

Leonardo has posed:
"Dudes! Dudes and dudettes! Bad things!"

Michelangelo's voice sounds a little more urgent than usual as he's heard out in the main part of the lair. "We're out of pizza! Whyyyy are we out of pizza?!?" he laments, sinking down to his knees in an overly dramatic pose.

"And Leo's hurt!" he adds, almost an afterthought.

As to that matter, the blue-masked turtle is slowly making his way in through the main hidden door they've got to help keep the place a secret. He moves with a stiffness, and there are multiple spots along his arms, legs, and a few over his head and face that show signs of cuts. Some of his green skin is stained with dried or drying blood.

Alopex has posed:
    The fox gives a little laugh before her ears pick up at the sound of Mikey's voice. What's wr- oh. no pizza. ... the horror. Sigh. Leo's hurt?! She gives a concerned look to Pippi before darting out of the training area toward the main area of the lair, wanting to find out what happened. ... She's suspicious that she already knows.

    "I think Leonardo's injuries are a little more important!" barks Alopex as she reaches the pair, wincing at the state Leo's in. "I'd ask what happened, but I really feel like I already know..." she sounds apologetic as she says it. "Did.. what did he say?"

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi's unblinded, and she gives a grin to Pex, and then her ears perk up. She sniffs. There might be blood in the air, and she's distracted from Mikey's declaration of loss and woe before registerring just who was hurt. She's moving at the same time as Alopex, the shorter mutant looking over the grouping -- and she comes around to Leo's side, reaching up to offer an arm to the injured turtle to help bear his weight.

Leonardo has posed:
It's possible Michelangelo is overdoing it, but Leonardo looks like he's been through the wringer. Nothing requiring immediate medical attention, but 'Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts' could apply, minus a lot of paper cuts. He looks tired and sore more than anything else, like he'd rather just go to his room and sleep for half a day, but as Alopex and Pippi come over and react to what they see, he waves off Pippi and nods his way over toward one of the sofas in front of the TVs.

"He wasn't in a very talkative mood," the turtle leader deadpans, letting out a long breath once he's been able to get off his feet. It's no secret he and Mikey were out scouting in search of any signs of Nemean. "Found him in the Bronx Zoo, of all places."

Alopex has posed:
    The news, and the location, gets a grunt out of Alopex. "He's still near where we used to stay," the fox points out, letting Leo take his seat on the couch without plopping down nearby. Without any hesitation she wanders over to the fridge, finds some water for the hurt turtle, and wanders back to offer it. "You need it," she says, tone insisting.

    "If he's still prowling around Winterfall I'm going to have to start patrolling there again. Did you manage to get back at him at all? I .. just can't imagine he's that convinced after all we did for each other since I met him."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi just gives a nod, her tail giving a slight wag -- hey, means that Leo's feeling strong enough to get over on his own power, and she tails behind them. Her eyes wander his form, looking at all the dried blood as she makes a slight face, shooting a worried look to Alopex. "... that's close to Winter's Dojo." Pippi reflects with Alopex, and she sits down on the floor -- splut -- legs in a W instead of an X or properly folded beneath her. "You're not going patrolling without me." she states firmly, though her gaze returns worriedly to Leo, looking back and forth between him and his orange-bandana'd brother.

Leonardo has posed:
Michelangelo keeps watch, but he's also rummaging around and checking empty pizza boxes in the hope he might come up lucky. "Oh man oh man, it's probably too late to dial up Woody for an emergency refill, noooo!" Well, he and Leo have already talked about what happened, so maybe it's best to just let Mikey go be himself.

"Thanks," Leonardo murmurs when Alopex hands him the water, and he drinks about half of it in one sip. Was he supposed to start cleaning off his scratches and cuts? He was thirsty. Priorities. "We felt each other out. At least, that's what I was doing. I tried to show him the truth before it was too late. He's got a real tough hide and he's bigger and stronger, but I think I got through to him a little just in the nick of time." In the nick of time to prevent what, though? "He ran off. I didn't think it was a good idea to chase after him. He's very conflicted."

Alopex has posed:
    The younger brother isn't paid much attention. No Woody probably wouldn't be able to put in an order. There are other pizza places, but she gets it. Meh. Not going to bring up the fact there are OTHER kinds of food. .... yes.. there are.

    Back to Leonardo. She did want him to drink it, so that's fine.

    She gives a nod to Pippi. Patrol in pairs, that's far more safe than not. The fox WANTED to encounter Nemean one on one but.. no.. the pup is right. She can't let that guilt control her. Not now. "Right, no patrols alone," she finally says before looking back to Leonardo. "Got.. through? How so?"

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi watches Michelangelo work thorugh his hunger pangs, and gives a slight sigh as she draws up a little bit. Her ears prick forward though, and she turns her armber eyes to Leonardo. He has her undivided attention now -- because if there's a way to get through to Cody?

    She wants it.

Leonardo has posed:
"I was holding back. Of course I'm not going to try to kill him. He..wasn't. We made a bit of a mess," Leonardo explains, adding, "I think a part of him realized that, the longer we fought. He wasn't letting up, and he did have me pinned at one point. Asked me if I had any last words." He lets that sink in, taking a few moments for another sip of water to see how they handle what they've heard so far.

Alopex has posed:
    Alopex is all ears, but hearing most of this? Her shoulders just drop. At least Leonardo wasn't dead, but if Nemean was attacking with fatal intentions, she worried what it meant for everyone in the room, and in the lair over all. She's entirely silent, returning to the fridge for some water for herself. Her body language would hint at just how she's feeling. Same as she did the moment she realized it was Cody. Still her fault, and she wasn't about to be convinced otherwise.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi looks between the both of them. Both had taken her in. Both had worked with her on improving and control, and she took a deep breath as she bowed her ehad, adn rubbed the back of her neck.

    "He tried to shoot Alopex. He knew exactly who she was, and who he thinks he is." she states, and she curls her tail slightly. It doesn't wag, and her ears go limp, and she exhales in a huff through her nose. "So... every time someone encounters him... he fights like it's the last time they will?" she asks in a small, quiet voice.

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo continues after reading the reactions of both Alopex and Pippi, two who have been around Cody more than he over the past month or so. "I took the blame for what happened. He thinks we made him the way he is, and in a way he's not wrong whether they put that in his head or not." He works a finger around one of his cuts, checking to see if it's going to need any more than the usual healing to close back up. "I told him the truth, that I never should have allowed him to take the mutagen home, that I might as well have caused this myself because of that. It made him stop what he was about to do."

"I told him I was sorry."

Alopex has posed:
    "But I drew him into this at the start," Alopex protests, slowly uncapping a bottle before sipping it a bit himself. "Knowing what I knew at the time about the corruption running through law enforcement and other organizations, I should have just sent him away. Instead he got involved in all of this and ened up," she makes a motion with one hand, "What he is now." Hindsight is 20/20, but realizing you're looking through those glasses is a little harder to tell when your shouldering something like this. "I don't regret turning on the Foot, that I wouldn't ever change. However, I was -so desperate- for allies afterward that I just accepted the first person that wanted to help. I had no idea if any of you," she looks toward Leonardo, "Would ever accept me after everything.."

Leonardo has posed:
Grimacing, Leonardo shakes his head. Even that area seems sore. "If anything, it's both our faults. But, he still chose to get involved. We can't change what happened. We can only try to help him through this." He pushes back to his feet and crouches, testing some of the other areas that aren't feeling so great. There are a lot of them. "What I learned is he has enough control to come back from a killing rage and decide to run off. I had to find out how deep the brainwashing was." He does know that it led to him being within moments of potentially dying, doesn't he?

By being back upright again, it allows him the opportunity to approach Alopex and extend a hand toward the snow fox's shoulder. "If we both have to share some blame for this, so be it, but I believe he can be saved. I know he can, because I think he made the choice to fight what Shredder and Kitsune did to him. If you were able to get past that, so can he."

Alopex has posed:
    The fox gives a glance back to Leonardo, seemingly thinking about it, but then she finally nods, "I hope your right. I don't recall any kind of brainwashing, they just told me things and since I was new to the larger world, I believed it. Whatever was done to him is something different," she muses, thinking. "I don't know what may have been done, but I hope we can figure it out," then she looks to Pippi, "All of us. We've all known Cody in one way or another. I think it'll take all of us to break him out of whatever Shredder did to him."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi looks back and forth to Leo, to Alopex, and distantly to Mikey in the kitchen before she gives a nod.

    "Well, I don't know the Foot. I don't know this Kit-sue-nee. An' I know it's heavy, but I'm strong enough for everyone." she tries to sound uplifting, her tail sweeping the floor behind her as she gives a smile.

    "I'll do whatever it takes to help bring Cody back, and keep you guys from falling, too." she gives a toothy, hoepful grin.

    "I'm with you, for Cody, to the end."

Leonardo has posed:
"I know the Foot as well as anyone here except Master Splinter and, I guess, Alopex," Leonardo says, taking Pippi back into the mix as he looks her way. He doesn't seem to know much about Kitsune, if anything, but others have experience with her.

Back to Alopex, he adds, "The first step to figuring it all out is believing we can find a way, knowing we can. You broke away from them, whatever they had you believing. They gave Cody a false set of memories from what I've figured out. We just have to support him and give him reason to question it. I think we've done that. Some of it..it's going to have to come from him, too."

A gesture is made toward the Lair. "He demanded I tell him where you were hiding, Alopex. Whatever we do, we have to protect the secrecy of this place. When you're up top, take different routes back here. Try to throw your scents off any way you can. Most of all, be careful. I took a chance, but I had to."

Alopex has posed:
    After Pippi speaks up, Alopex offers a calm smile to the pup. There is just something about the way she carries herself that is a bit inspiring. She doesn't want to call it naieveity, nor innocence. THere's just something she does to boost morale, and it's something that Alopex has really needed lately. It's kept her going, and for that she'd always be grateful. "We -will- have him back, one way or another."

    After Leo speaks, Alopex agrees, "I've already started being careful after a chance meeting with a 'favored friend' of yours," she admits tone dripping with sarcasm. "I've been pulling batteries from my cellphones long before I head underground ever since. Every trick I know, I've been using. I know how much trust your family put in me, I'm taking it entirely serious, Leonardo. I can give you my word on that," she explains. "I won't lead him back here, that's a promise. I just really want to figure out how to break him of this blasted control. Is there anything specific you said to him that stood out? That made him leave rather than do anything else?"

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi's ears draw forward, and she leans forward, loking to Leo. She's all ears, her fingers curling against her knees as she looks between the two, and she gives a nod, but doesn't add much. She's trying her best to pay attention, in case it might be useful.

Leonardo has posed:
Nodding, Leonardo offers approval to the snow fox, and her own charge in Pippi. "Good. I wasn't sure you could be trusted right away, but you've proven yourself already." He passes Michelangelo, who's settled in to listen now that he's found something that will at least tide him over - a brainfreeze-inducing Slurpee - and Leo grabs a wrapped cheeseburger out of the fridge and plops it in the microwave to warm up.

"I just told him what really happened. He noticed I wasn't trying to kill him, and when I apologized and tried to take responsibility for what happened to him, it got through to him in some way. Honesty makes a difference," he explains, rubbing the back of his neck. Even part of his mask is marred by some of his blood.

Alopex has posed:
    The fox seems thoughtful, taking a seat now as she considers all the pieces. "... that's right. Pippi, didn't he seem certain that -we- mutated him into what he is now?" Pause. Nodding, Hmm, this makes sense. Maybe trying to tell him the truth is good. If he's been fed a lie, we have to keep reinforcing the truth through our actions. We can absolutley defend ourselves, but we have to keep telling him the truth. Like you said, we need to be honest. Any kind of dishonesty now may cause us to lose him."

Pippi has posed:
    "Ah... yeah. He was certain Pex did it. I was just called 'the sidekick'. HE didn't call me by my name... but the Foot doesn't know my name, I don't think they do." she looks concerned a moment, then looks up to Alopex. "... if it comes down to it... I want to help him. I remember what it was like and how much it hurts..." she shudders a moment, her arms coming up. "No one should have to change like that. It's... it's bad stuff." she finishes up, not being able to find the right word for it. "I'll start carrying his backpack. He gave it to me before Alopex moved me into the dojo." she explains to Leonardo. "It doesn't have his human scent on it, but it was a gift. Maybe that'll remind him?"

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo agrees. "Not lying to him is a good start. I think there's already been enough of that done to get him the way he is now. I saw something in there that is trying to resist, so we have to be careful about it. Pushing things further right now might be too risky. I say we give it a few days, maybe a week or so, and see if we hear of any sightings. He might be holed up somewhere trying to work things out."

The microwave dings and, after determining the burger is at the desired temperature, he downs it in a bite or two. Having an oversized mouth has its benefits when there isn't a lot of time to nibble.

"On the other hand, he might do something that keeps him in sight." Nodding to Pippi, he supposes, "That might not hurt. Just..if you run into him, be cautious, make sure you have a way out if you need it, and try to be supportive."

Alopex has posed:
    The mention of Cody not even calling Pippi's name was a bit of a shot, it even gets Alopex to frown slightly at the moment. However, the idea of her keeping that backpack on is a good idea, "I like that, actually. You have that, I have the phone he gave me, I can even prove I tried to call him before going to his apartment to check on him before we realized he was gone. Why would I try to call him if we all mutated him down at the docks..?" she questions in a rhetorical way.

    "Caution is probably our best friend for now, though. I say we do what we do, try to keep Shredder from gaining even -more- power around the city, but be on guard for Cody. Never go out alone, and always be sure to have a way out of a situation. Sounds like a good plan all around, agreed?"

Pippi has posed:
    "I can't help but be supportive. I've got a three ton lift." Pippi pipes up, her tail giving a wag.

    And she makes a face, her ears drawing down a moment as her shoulders drop, and she "... I guess I'll have to apologize for punching him through a wall though. That probably hurt. But I didn't know he was Cody at the time."

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo almost cracks a smile at Pippi's joke. It comes as a slight twitch to a corner of his mouth, and it's the best he can muster. "Good one, Pippi," he murmurs, although his voice remains more on the flat side than not. "Do either of you have any other questions? Otherwise, I think it's time I go get cleaned up and try to sleep for a while. I haven't felt this sore in..a long time." The encounter with Karai didn't even approach this level of bruising and cutting up.

Alopex has posed:
    The fox shakes her head, "At this point, no. I think we've covered everything and came up with a few ideas and a good strategy. You need the rest more than the rest of us, Leonardo. Go take care of yourself, and I imagine we'll do the same pretty soon."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi gives a nod. "I'll keep an ear out for trouble. I was going to run a patrol tonight buuuut maybe staying in would be a better idea because if you need any help we'll be there to help!" she states, and gives a firm nod of her head. "... as long as you're going to be okay."

Leonardo has posed:
"I've been through worse," Leonardo says, shuffling off toward his room to deal with things. Left unsaid is what might have happened had the risk he took with apologizing not gone the way it did.