The Ghost Within
Against all time and reason I have decided to write another full length story involving our favorite brothers. When the muse hits, there is no way to beat it back, therefore, we write. I hope you all enjoy it as much as some of my previous ones. And always thanks to everyone who has reviewed my previous stories. Please continue the tradition :)
Summary: "Do as the heavens have done, forget your evil; With them forgive yourself." A night out with family ends in a nightmore none of the brothers could have ever imagined. With brother pitted against brother and their family foundations shaken, can the love and strength of family perservere or will they be torn apart forever?
"Again!"
"Now parry. And thrust. Good!"
"Now hold!"
My muscles were screaming. I could feel them trembling under my skin as I struggled to hold. I hoped no one noticed the slight tremble in my weapon as I held it thrust forward, fighting my exhaustion. I glaced to my right and saw Don holding his bo straight forward, beads of sweat rolling down his face. I smirked slightly as I noticed his eyes narrowed to slits in unhidden weariness. Mikey was to my left, keeping his weapon twirling quickly in front of him, his forward leg trembling visibly.
"Raphael, focus!"
Shit. I snapped my head forward again and turned all of my attention to holding my stance. I bore my gaze into my forward weapon, channeling all of my energy into holding it steady. OK. Focus. It isn't long before my eyes start drifting over to my fourth brother, and I have to bite back a groan of frustration when my eyes finally fall on him. There he is, our Fearless Leader, making this grueling training session look like a leisurely stroll in the park. His face is focused, his body held in position like an unmovable rock. His face shows no exhaustion, his breath is even. He looks like he could hold position all day. Showoff.
"And release!"
I dropped my arms with a silent sigh of relief. Mikey let out a long groan next to me, shaking his arms loose.
"Man, is that, like, really necessary?" he mumbled, causing a lopsided smile to appear on my face.
"Kneel." I heard sensei say, and turned my attention back toward him, letting my sore body fall to a kneeling position next to my other exhausted brothers. "You did well today, my sons." He said, standing in front of us with his walking stick perched under his folded hands. "Donatello, good effort, but make sure you are always keeping your weapon steady and your motions clean. Michelangelo, you are a strong fighter, but you must try to stay more serious during practice. Raphael, good movement, but stay focused on the task at hand." I frowned at the criticism. I was focused. "And Leonardo, very skillful, I can tell you have been practicing hard."
I rolled my eyes and let my head turn slightly toward Leo and narrowed my eyes. No criticism for Mr. Perfect. He can do no wrong. All hail the mighty Leo.
"Teacher's pet." I muttered under my breath. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he turned his head to give me a pointed stare. I smirked. Score one for Raph.
"You are all dismissed." Sensei finished, and the four of us stood, raising our tired bodies from the mats and began packing up our equipment.
"Man, I'm beat!" Mikey exclaimed as he quickly hung his chucks on the wall. "Wanna get some pizza?"
"Mmmm, mmmm! I think we have a new winner. Cheesy pizza with jellybeans and skittles. Complements to the pizza genious, A.K.A. muah!"
"Hey, Mikey."
"Yeah, Raph?"
"Shuddup!" I yelled halfheartedly, looking over my shoulder at my hyperactive brother. I could see him standing not too far behind me, his legs swinging loosely over the side of the building we were chilling on. To my side were the demolished boxes that had been full of piping hot pizza not long before. The night was cool as winter was beginning to release its grasp on the city and a brisk March wind blew over the tops of the building. I looked over my head and my eyes met the large full moon that illuminated the city in an eerie glow. Large, thick clouds were rolling toward it, threatening to block out the light it was providing. I sighed softly. I loved the city at night.
"I dunno, Mikey." I heard Don speak behind me, rousing me from my thoughts. "I think my superior and ingenious pizza concoction beats yours any day."
"Cha right!" Mikey yells back. "There is no way, bro. I'm sorry, but you just can't take my amazing pizza genius. I think I'm finally overshadowing you."
I couldn't help but snicker at my brothers' light hearted bickering. Mikey more of a genius than Don? Yeah. When monkeys fly out of Leo's butt!
"Hey guys, quiet down a minute." Leo spoke up. His tone of voice made me turn my head toward our oldest brother. He was standing rigid, unmoving across the rooftop, his foot mounted up on the side of the building. The weak rays of the moon illuminated his form, and I could see his face was drawn tightly in concentration. I rose and made way over to where he was standing, feeling the need to know what he had seen.
"What's up, Leo?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. Leo didn't answer right away, he didn't even move. His eyes narrowed further and his mouth drew tighter. I couldn't help but be taken aback by his intensity. He had definitely heard something. Maybe tonight would begin to liven up after all.
"Foot ninja." Leo said finally, his voice hard and flat. "I don't know what they are up to, but I think we should check it out."
"Aww, so much for our quiet pizza party." Mikey said, his voice now right behind me. "Count on the Foot to always ruin our fun."
I watched for a reaction from Leo, but his face remained impassive. I couldn't tell what was running through his head. I heard Donny take a few steps closer and saw him shiver lightly as the cool wind picked up. I waited a minute more for Leo to say something, to give us some sign of what he wanted to do, but he remained silent. I narrowed my eyes and sighed. Were we just gonna stand here and do nothing all night?
"Come on, Leo." I pushed, my muscles twitching from promise of a fight. "Are we just gonna sit here and stare at the stars all night or are we gonna do something?" I jumped up onto the edge of the roof, hoping my action would spark a reaction from my so far quiet brother. I got what I wanted.
"Raph, you need to be patient!" Leo responded, his voice filled with annoyance.
"Yeah, well, patience doesn't beat the bad guys. I'm goin to go check it out." And with that, I leapt from the edge of the roof to the next, moving in the direction Leo was focused on.
"Yeah, uhh, alright, let's do it." I heard Mikey speak unsurely behind me. I smirked as I moved across the rooftops. I knew Don and Mikey hated it when I put them in the position to choose between me and Leo, but I could always count on Mikey to follow behind me. I could imagine Leo sighing in frustration behind me, but if he did it was drowned out by the wind whipping around me as I ran toward the Foot. I ran quickly across the rooftops until I finally caught sight of a few Foot ninja, not far ahead. I quickly slid to a stop and ducked down silently behind the edge of the roof, trying to remain unseen. As I peered over the edge, I could see below me a few Foot, maybe fifteen, attempting to break into the building across the ally. My eyes narrowed. What were they up to?
"So, what's the deal?" I heard Mikey whisper behind me. I looked over and saw him knelt down next to me, gazing down at the Foot below. Two more sets of quiet footsteps came up behind me and I felt Leo and Don peering over my head to get a look in the ally below.
"It looks like they are trying to break into that building." Don said quietly.
I snorted. "Wow, Don, I'll never question your astounding brain power again." I spouted off sarcastically. I was rewarded with a pointed glare from my brother in purple.
"So, what's the plan?" Mikey asked, looking over toward Leo expectantly. I heard Leo shift behind me.
"We should wait and watch. They are up to something, and I think we should find out what." He said, his voice steady and sure. I rolled my eyes. Great. The old wait and do nothing routine. So typical. I ground my teeth together in frustration.
"Waiting gets ya nowhere." I said, my voice quiet but forceful. I stood up and turned to face our Fearless Leader. "I say we kick their butt. That'll stop them from getting what they want."
"Yeah, and then we have no idea why they were out here." Leo said, his eyes narrowing at me. "We need to figure out what their intentions are. The Foot never do anything without a purpose."
"We know what their intentions are." I said, my anger beginning to build. "They're breaking into that building, and we need to do something." I took a forceful step toward Leo, my face now only inches from his. I drew my face into a tight frown and narrowed my eyes. The sting of critisism from tonight's practice was still simmering in my blood and I wanted to show our perfect brother that I wasn't going to back down, that my plan was better. He didn't step back in response, but held his ground.
"But, why, Raph?" He asked, staring straight back at me, his gaze never wavering from my own. "Why are they breaking into the building?"
"Who cares?" I answer back. "What matters is that they are, and if we sit around here watchin like a bunch of pansies, we could lose our opportunity to put a stop to it. I don't care what you think, Fearless, but I'm going in. You can join if you want." And with that I turned away and leapt from the side of the building into the middle of the ally. I vaguely heard Leo call my name from the rooftop above, but I ignored it. It was time for battle.
"Hello, boys and girls." I said, looking around at the surprised ninjas in black around me. "You kids look like you are up to no good. Time for your punishment."
It only took a second for the first Foot ninja to attack. He came upon me quickly but I easily dodged his attack, and countered with a swift kick to his stomach, knocking him across the ally way. With that the rest of the ninja leapt into action. I quickly blocked a pair of swords with my sais, kicking a second who had snuck up behind me. I dispatched another and turned to see a sword coming at me. I moved to dodge the attack, but didn't have to. In a flash Leo was there, landing on top of the attacking ninja with blinding speed. Without a moments hesitation he rose and immediately countered the next attacking Foot.
"Whoo hoo, it's party time." Mikey exclaimed from somewhere behind me. I didn't have time to turn as another black clad ninja came at me. I quickly raised my sais and a loud clang ran through the air as my weapons connected with his. I pushed my strength into him and with a growl beat him backward and lunged at him with my elbow raised, knocking him backward in a daze. I turned to block another oncoming attack, but was met with nothing. Done already? My eyes narrowed.
"Hey, where are they all going?" Mikey asked, and I turned to look around me. The remaining ninja were quickly fleeing, disappearing over the tops of the roofs and into the suffocating night.
"What was that all about?" I asked, thoroughly confused.
"I guess we'll never know." I heard Leo grind out behind me, anger lacing his tone. "What were you doing? Jumping into the middle of a band of Foot? Completely disregarding what I had to say?"
"It sure beat standing around and doing nothing!" I yelled back. I felt anger begin to quickly boil through my blood at Leo's words. "That's all you ever wanna do. Stand around and watch. See what they're up to. Where does that get anyone?"
"It gets answers, which you would learn if you could exercise some patience and focus!" Leo countered, his voice becoming louder. He sheathed his swords with a swift motion and crossed his arms in front of him in his stereotypical 'I'm better than you' posture. My blood boiled more.
"Hey, guys…" I faintly heard Mikey's voice interrupt from somewhere nearby. But I was too heated to stop now. Leo was really pissing me off and someone needed to put him back in his place.
"Oh, patience and focus." I sneered back at him, taking a few menacing steps toward him. "Patience and focus is the answer to everything. Just be patient Raph. Just focus more Raph. Then you can be just as good as the amazing Leo." I pushed my face into his, my teeth bared in anger. "Well I got news for ya, Leo. Not everyone can be as amazing and focused as you."
"I'm not…Raph, get off it." Leo answered back, his voice thick with frustration. But I wasn't about to stop now.
"You always want us to be just like you. Patient and perfect. Well I got news for ya Leo. We don't wanna be like you!" I yelled back, my voice getting louder, more forceful. I didn't miss the barely noticeable flinch that crossed his face at my words, but it was gone in an instant, replaced with a steely gaze that bore into me.
"First off, I'm not perfect and you know it!" Leo said back, his voice softer now, though still filled with anger and menace. "And I never said I wanted you to be like me. All I want is for you to listen to me for once."
"Because you are the only one that can be right." I counter back. "You are the only one that deserves to be listened to."
"I never said that." He said, frustration once again seeping into his tone. "All I ask is for you to show some restraint. Think things through. Try and see my point of view for once."
"Yeah, Leo, well I don't work that way." I ground out, meeting his gaze head on. I could see him clench his teeth tighter at my words.
"I'm just trying to lead you guys the best that I can!" He answered back.
"Yeah, well, who needs ya!" I scream in response. I turned away from him and went to face my younger brothers who were standing silently behind me. Mikey held an awkward frown, his foot shifting uncomfortably along the dusty ally. Don was absentmindedly twirling his bo, looking anywhere but at his two fighting brothers. I shook my head. At least someone could stand up to Leo sometimes. "Come on, guys." I said, passing them and walking heatedly down the ally. "Let's get outta here."
I didn't hear footsteps following me immediately in response and when I reached the end of the ally, I turned my head slightly to see if they were following. I saw the two of them still standing awkwardly in the ally, looking from me to Leo, obviously torn on what to do, on who to side with. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms, waiting for them to follow. Then I saw Leo's stance slowly relax, his arms uncross and fall limply to his sides. He drew a long sigh.
"Go on, guys." I heard him say softly. "Go with Raph and go home. I'll be there in a bit."
"But, Leo." I heard Don say quietly. "Come home with us. It'll blow over."
Leo laughed softly then, turning his gaze away so that it was hidden by the shadows of the ally. I had to strain my ears to hear what he said next. "It's alright." He answered. "I'm sorry I let our night out end this way. Go home with Raph and I'll be there soon. I'm going to take the long way home."
Mikey and Donny stood for a few moments longer, still unsure of what to do. Then finally, after one last nod from Leo, the two of them walked toward me and the three of us walked silently to the end of the ally where a manhole awaited us. I lifted the lid and watched as Mikey, then Donny leapt into the safety of the sewers. I got ready to follow, but decided to chance one last look down the ally. Leo was already gone.
I rolled my eyes in mocked frustration, but in reality my anger was already beginning to dissipate. I was starting to feel a little guilty for some of the things I said to my older brother, and I was certain he was already beating himself up about the fight too. It always seemed to end that way. I looked once more down the empty ally and resolved that I would talk to Leo about it later. I finally turned my gaze back to the open manhole and leapt down it, following my brothers through the sewers and back home.