Chapter 1-Dead Inside
New York City. The sky is so brightly lit with the city lights. The lights outshine the stars overhead. I used to welcome those lights, they used to represent home for me. Now... they're just empty light. No longer my beacon. There is no light home for me anymore. The subways, the sewers, all the sounds of the city, all empty for me. I take in the view of the city that once held everything, the city that now holds nothing. Then, I prepare myself for it. I unsheathe the katana I hold on my shell, I grip them in my hands, stare at them as though they somehow weren't mine. They aren't. My katana gave me a feeling of strength, responsibility, motivation. When I held my katana in my hands, I became a ninja. The katana I hold now, they are alien to me, they don't make me a ninja, they don't give me strength. I'm returning them to their rightful owner now, as I place them within the stone of my platform. I unstrap the belt holding the sheathes to my shell, securing the belt around the alien katana. I look to the sky, I am almost ready to see my father again. I have only one thing left to return to the man with the alien katana. I untie the knot in the mask that conceals my eyes, I leave it for the man I stole it from. My mask used to give me my dearest possession, my name, my identity. But Leonardo Hamato is not here, he is somewhere far away, helpless without his katana, his sheathes, his mask. I move closer to the edge of my platform, I gaze up into the sky once more, whispering to my father.
"Sensei... I'll embrace you soon now..."
Somewhere, in the far off distance, I hear a faint sound of a glider slicing through the air, but the sound does not mean anything for me. It means nothing, so why do I hesitate? I turn, I look back at the possessions of Leonardo Hamato, the possessions that I stole from him. Leonardo is not here. He is home, home with his brothers. His brothers... I think I had brothers, but I can't picture them. I can only remember Leonardo's brothers. I remember Michelangelo Hamato, the youngest brother. He is laughing, smiling, even when his life is in danger, he just smiles, twirling his nunchuks. Never sad, never in tears, just always smiling, laughing, eternally. I remember Donatello Hamato, the second oldest brother. He is reading, typing, inventing, quietly introverted, his bo staff ready to keep Michelangelo distanced from his space. Always working on a new brilliant invention, delicately, meticulously. I remember Raphael Hamato, the second youngest brother. He is training, always training, filled with misplaced anger toward the world that shuns him and his family. His sais are at his side, always, their pointed blades a perfect match for his aggressive personality. But anger is not all that he is, he is filled with love for his brothers. He always puts them before himself, always protects them with unrivaled fury. I try to remember Leonardo, but nothing comes to me. I see a strange figure when I try to give the name a face, but it's too blurry of an image, I can't make out any details. I can only remember that his brothers rely on him, and he will need the weapons and mask I took from him to carry that responsibility. I have lost focus on what I set out to do, and I return my gaze to the empty city lights.
"Forgive me, Sensei. I do not mean to keep you waiting..."
I let go of all emotions, release my mind of all thoughts, save that of being alongside my master again. I am ready. I hear the glider, it's closer, somehow, but still far away. I let my mind distance itself from all the sounds of this empty city, of this empty world. I let my soul free from my body, leaping forward, off the edge of my platform. I hear nothing as I fall towards the freedom of my soul, anxiously awaiting the embrace of my father again...