Chapter Text
“It’s not like you to do something so risky, Holly Blue.”
Holly Blue’s antenna twitched as she looked up from her fresh bowl of tea into Agatha’s eyes. The massive badger yōkai loomed over her, standing while Holly Blue sat, but it didn’t intimidate her. Agatha wouldn’t harm her, in spite of her occasional lectures.
The tarantula hawk carefully lifted the bowl to her mandibles to take a steady sip. “I know it isn’t, but it needs to be done.”
“It doesn’t need to be done.” Agatha leaned towards her. “I’m not gonna judge what you want, Love, you know that. But be honest.”
The wasp’s wings buzzed for a single breath. “Fine. Originally it was a business endeavor. Now it’s personal.”
“Personal how?” Agatha sat on the nearby sofa. Her living room was always so comfortable, despite the remote location of the house. “What exactly happened?”
Holly Blue took another sip of sweetened tea before she began.
Three days ago, Holly Blue sat in the betting room of the Nexus Hotel.
Not a common hang out for her. Being anywhere underneath Big Mama’s eyes was as suffocating as it was dangerous. The spider wanted Holly Blue dead and only didn’t order it because she thought death was too kind of a punishment.
Holly Blue felt the same way.
A wonder that the woman even let the wasp into her establishments still, but then again Holly Blue paid just like anyone else. The greedy spider never said no to more funds.
The hotel had only been back in operation for about five months as well. The building was still in the repair phase after her plan to turn the surface into her arena went horribly wrong. Then came the invasion from what Holly Blue later learned were called kraang, forcing repairs to take even longer as construction crews were run thin around the city.
Sure there were yōkai and magic who could take up the job, but where the public could see them? Unwise.
Holly Blue stayed away from it during its grand reopening month. She’d silently prayed for so long that the destruction would finally knock Big Mama from her throne, but it did no such thing. The bitterness in Holly Blue’s chest kept her away.
But things stagnated for her. She had her regulars, of course, but she needed more. If she had any hope of ripping Big Mama’s influence out from under her, she needed a lot more. Her connections were wide now, and many, including a few of the most infamous mobs in the Hidden City, but it wasn’t enough.
So she tried a tactic she’d used a few times in the past. To make a little business deal with some of Big Mama’s most famed fighters and cause the spider to lose her grip on them.
The current champion immediately caught her eye.
Not an imposing figure in the slightest. Even with his armor and flashy pieces of clothing he stood far shorter than a majority of the combatants. But in spite of how tiny the purple figure looked on the massive arena floor, he surprised her every time she watched. He’d arrive with machines either built beforehand or summoned by his mystics. His control over them was unfathomable. Hundreds of metal weapons overwhelmed any opponent. And often times the fighters were so occupied with them, the champion would swoop in with victory.
He fought with just a staff, though his mystics allowed him to utilize it in dozens of ways. Turning it into a hammer would allow a hard enough hit to knock most people unconscious. Other times he switched it into a blade.
Holly Blue watched these fights mainly in Zerrick’s bar, sipping on a sweet cocktail and listening to the other patrons cheer.
Technology truly was something foreign to any citizens who didn’t like to breach the surface. Magic made the development of it seemingly worthless, but Holly Blue didn’t believe that. There must be things technology could make simpler, faster, something the public would crave. And if she became the one to provide that, well, maybe that’d finally give her the leverage against Big Mama that she needed.
Holly Blue wanted that woman taken down, to her lowest point, so all she could do was grovel. It’s what she deserved after…
Holly Blue kept watching the fights.
She noticed something.
Nexus battles were always a terrifying thing, which is what made them so thrilling. So many people would enter that arena and never leave it alive, so almost anyone who fought did so with the ferocity of trapped prey.
Sometimes the champion—Violet Knight—fought that way. Other days he was far sloppier. His movements were sluggish, unconcerned, even when he was struck or thrown into a wall. Any bleeding wounds were ignored. Holly Blue must have missed the fight when he lost a hand, but she noted one day that it was replaced by a glowing piece of mystic tech.
People only fought like that when they wanted to give up. She’d seen it before.
That’s why Holly Blue sat in the gambling hall now. She’d placed her bets, paid her fees, and even bought a drink. Plenty of long time customers greeted her. One playfully asked if she was still offering her old services.
He received a needle pressed to his throat in response and swiftly moved on.
It took a few hours for Holly Blue to actually get what she came here for.
“Why, Miss Blueberry.” Big Mama’s voice still rang with all the sweetness and charm in the world. The heels of her human disguise clicked against the polished floor. “What a surprise. I was worried you’d never see my new designs in the hotel.” She spread out her hands to gesture around the room. “Isn’t it fantabulous? A dreadful shame what happened to the hotel, but at least we got the opportunity for all this smashing redecorating.”
Holly Blue lifted her drink and nodded. “I do admit, you have outdone yourself with the place. I haven’t seen the rooms, but I’ve heard good things.”
The woman’s eyes flashed as she stepped closer, but still out of arms length. “Oh, yes, all furnished with the finest sleeping arrangements. Perhaps a lucky guest will have the honor of showing you one.”
She didn’t take the bait, but she did snort. “Not what I came here for, I’m afraid.”
“Just placing bets, then?” The woman’s eyes weren’t quite closed, studying Holly Blue for the slightest twitch. “Or something else.”
Holly Blue tugged out her cigarette holder and lit it. Big Mama never banned smoking in this building. “I want to have a chat with your current champion.”
Big Mama clapped her hands together. “I’m afraid that won’t be happening.”
The wasp almost dropped the holder before it met her mandibles. Her antenna pointed straight up. “What? Why not? I have more than enough money to—”
“Oh, no doubt that you do.” Big Mama’s fingers slid together. “My Little Miss Blue is doing so well out there by her lonesome self. But she’s not subtle. Every time you have a little chat with a champion you end up sweeping them away. I may have let you get away with it a few times, but not this one.”
Holly Blue narrowed her eyes and took a deep inhale of smoke, letting it fill her lungs that to this day still felt so foreign in her chest. “And what makes this one so special?”
The spider put a finger to her perfectly painted lips that Holly Blue could still feel trailing over her exoskeleton some nights. “That’s Mama’s secret.”
Holly Blue chewed on the end of her holder.
“Besides, I doubt he’d go anywhere with you.” Big Mama rested her hand on her cheek as she giggled. “Big Mama has something he wants. Anyway, enjoy the rest of the show. Mama has to get back to work.” She did that irritating little wave with her fingers before sauntering back into the crowd.
Fine. If Big Mama wouldn’t grant her access to a conversation, Holly Blue would make the opportunity for herself.
One day ago, Holly Blue broke into the Battle Nexus.
No, broke in isn’t the right phrase. She rarely needed to actively do that with the connections she had. A little wink to Agatha and she could slip in the back door. A few pleasant hellos to the staff and no one mentioned they’d seen her. Holly Blue even kept a powder on her to dodge Gus’s excellent nose.
She did at least ask one of her old friends where the champion stayed. If she had to lurk around the hotel, she would.
As she suspected, Violet Knight stayed locked in the Nexus dungeon.
Just like…
Holly Blue knew her way there. She couldn’t avoid the shiver that ran from her shoulders down her wings as she walked down the stony hallway. Despite all her visits, she hadn’t come to this area in years. And the last time she’d seen it was the day she finally tore herself free of Big Mama for good.
Still, she pressed on, all the way down to the final cell where her once good friend used to be. Thank goodness he’d also slipped out of Big Mama’s grasp, though Holly Blue had no clue where he’d gone.
She tapped her knuckles against the door.
No reply. Was the champion not here right now? He didn’t have a fight scheduled today.
“Excuse me?” She tried speaking. Perhaps he stayed silent because he thought she was someone else. “Are you awake?”
“Who the heck are you?” The voice was rough, tired, lined with irritation. Maybe he had been asleep.
“My name is Holly Blue.”
“That’s new. What did Big Mama send you down here for?”
Holly Blue glanced back to make certain the hall was empty. “She didn’t send me. She doesn’t know I’m here. For now. May I come in? I need to keep this visit brief.”
Because while Big Mama didn’t constantly monitor her security footage, she would eventually.
“Asking for permission to come into a prison cell.” The champion snorted. “Yeah, sure, whatever.”
Holly Blue easily undid the lock and opened the door.
The champion lay on the floor and, admittedly, wasn’t what she expected.
Her first thought was a lizard yōkai, but then she noted he had some kind of shell on his back, almost hidden as he lay on it. He had on none of his clothing or armor, amplifying the amount of scars that lined his skin.
As she suspected, his left hand was missing, cut off just above the wrist. Multiple scratches and even a couple of bites lined his arms. There was a small pit dug into his plastron. A pair of scars ran from his chin towards his mouth, one of them going over his lip and causing the faintest split. Another under his left eye. His legs managed to avoid a decent amount of damage, though there was a massive scar in his calf.
How did his shell look?
Not that she would ask such a personal question.
His eyes flicked over to her. The lines under them indicated exhaustion. It couldn’t possibly be age. Was he even an adult?
Holly Blue shut the door behind her. “Apologies for the intrusion.”
He scoffed, expression unchanging. “Again, it’s a prison cell. What do you want?”
Fine, she might as well get to the point. “I came to offer you a deal.”
He rolled his eyes and finally sat up, turning so his shell pressed against the wall. “And where have I heard that one before?”
“From Big Mama, I presume?”
Once again, he studied her, eyes scanning her dress up to her hat.
Her antenna twitched. “I’m not going to waste time spilling words about how I don’t lie like her. You have no reason to believe me. I’ll simply cut to what I’m offering. I’m offering you a way out of here and possibly more if you build some of your devices for me to sell.”
At least his expression changed, frown deepening. “You want my tech?”
“Indeed. The Hidden City is severely lacking in it. I’d wager we could make a fortune with it. You’d get a cut of it too, of course.”
He didn’t reply at first. Holly Blue wouldn’t say more until he did. As he continued to stare she pulled out her cigarette holder, just to chew on the end of it.
The turtle groaned as he sat up a bit. “I can’t leave.”
“I can get you out.”
“You don’t understand.” He glared this time. “I can’t. Big Mama has something I need.”
“And what is that?”
“A revival scepter.”
Her antenna straightened. Not an item she’d ever heard of, but the purpose behind it couldn’t be more obvious. Did Big Mama even have something like that?
She chewed for a couple of seconds. “Have you seen this item?”
“Huh?”
“Has Big Mama shown you this scepter?”
“I… no. But she has to have it. I did every bit of research I could and it led me to her.”
“And your deal with her required you to fight in the Nexus, I presume?”
“Yes.”
“And how long have you been here?”
He flinched at that, hand wrapping around his arm below the stump on his wrist.
She waited for him to answer.
“I don’t know,” he sighed. “Eight months, I guess? Sometimes hard to tell how time passes down here.”
Holly Blue nodded in agreement. “If she’s had you fighting that long, as her champion for that long, she’s not going to let you go. I know her. She’s going to keep changing the terms to suit her and dangle what you desire just out of your reach. If she even has the thing you’re looking for. If she hasn’t shown it to you, you have no proof that she does.”
The turtle bared his teeth, though not at her. His grip on his arm tightened and his shoulders tensed. She could see a faint scar on the top of his shell from here.
Holly Blue took a step towards him. “What if I help you find one?”
“How?” He spat.
“I have connections, a lot of them, even in here. Perhaps there’s a way I could plan to take it out from under her nose. And if she doesn’t have it, maybe I could find it somewhere else. I can’t promise it, of course, but I’m not one to change the terms of a deal when I make one. If you build tech for us to sell, you won’t have to keep begging her for something she won’t give you.”
His gaze met hers again, eyes far more awake now. Funny, their shade of brown felt so familiar.
He let out a long sigh and let himself collapse against the wall. “If you can get me out of here, I’ll consider it.”
Holly Blue’s wings twitched and she turned towards the door. “I’ll make it happen, one way or another. Ah, apologies, I haven’t gotten your name.”
“Surely you know my title.”
“I don’t want your title. I am asking for your name. Unless you prefer the former.”
The turtle’s gaze moved to the side. A faint crinkle formed along his snout, as if he were in pain.
Then he let out another sigh and said, “Donatello.”
She did her best to smile, which really was just squinting with the lower lids of her eyes. “It’s nice to meet you, Donatello. I look forward to seeing you again.”
“Okay, getting all of that.” Agatha nodded a couple of times. “Still missing the whole personal deal. Outside of the obvious revenge scheme you have.”
Holly Blue sighed and put her now empty bowl on the small table in front of her. “He doesn’t want to fight, Agatha. In fact, if he weren’t struggling for that scepter there’s no doubt in my mind he would have let one of the fights kill him. He’s just like…”
Her friend stared at her. “Like Lou?”
Holly Blue’s antenna lowered at the mention of his name. She didn’t know Lou for very long, sent by Big Mama herself to patch up his injuries after a fight. But they became fast friends, their conversations felt freeing, somehow, in spite of them all taking place inside a prison cell. But Big Mama planned the whole thing, turning Holly Blue into a bargaining chip to make her champion actually put efforts into his fights again.
It only worked once. After witnessing the carnage in the arena and Lou’s insistence that she run, she did. She fought to escape that stadium not just for her sake but for his. Without the leverage, Big Mama couldn’t force him to fight anymore.
But she should have tried to free him as well back then. She should have taken him with her. How was it fair that she got her freedom and he didn’t?
Holly Blue missed him all the time, even now, but there was no helping that regret. She could help Donatello.
Agatha snorted and leaned back in her seat. “Ugh, I’m sure if I don’t help you, you’re gonna try and do something anyway, so fine. But we do this my way. We can’t risk the safety of the staff that decides to help.”
Holly Blue nodded in agreement.
The badger continued, “And there’s something else if we’re really going to make this work.”
She tilted her head. “What’s that?”
“You’re going to have to convince Gus not to rat us out. You know if that dog notices anything, it’s all going to go to shit.”
Holly Blue did. That’s what happened when she first tried to leave. But could she convince him? Despite their history, despite the fact that she practically raised him, he never wanted her to leave. He tried to stop her. There’s no way he’d approve of this.
But if anyone could do this, it’d be Holly Blue.
“Alright,” she sighed. “I’ll figure it out. Put together anything else you need within the week.”
Agatha’s sharp teeth sparkled in the low light when she grinned. “You got it, Love.”