How Long Is Time
Chapter 1: Too Much In So Little Time
A/N: This is the Part 2 of the Fears Series. Hope you enjoy and yes, it will be longer than the first one.
Disclaim: I don't know or own them. Sorry.
My name is Emerald and it's been two years since I had to help Loss's family. I have left the turtles before the 1st year was over. I couldn't handle all of the silence. I believe that the guys were breaking apart because of Splinter's death. I also believe that Splinter's death was my fault. Raph also thought that way too. I couldn't be in the same room with him not unless I wanted to be yelled at. Leo's been in his room ever since and he hasn't even shown his face to any of his brothers or me. Don's never left his computer and Mike's been training overtime. I was the only one who had moved on, Mike had a bit too. I had convince Mike to come with me cause the lair wasn't his home any more. Leo had overheard the conversation and had decided to leave the lair too but at a price. He had to choose to leave Don and Raph behind or stay with them. This decision tore him apart. I just finally left by myself and left Mike a note saying that he needed to stay with his brothers and that they needed him more that I needed him. I've been walking for the past year and I've gotten far but not as far as I wanted. I hope the guys are still ok in the Lair. I don't want to be the fault of anything any more.
Back in the lair, things had gone from bad to worse. Raph and Don had left several months after Em and Leo had become so isolated in his room, Mike doubted that he ever left. Mike, though, had taken a bad beating from Raph before he had left. Mike now has a bad limp in his right leg and now tries to take care of it as best he could, still training hard and keeping the lair in good condition.
"Leo?" Mike asked, knocking on Leo's door. "Leo, I got some food for you."
After a while, when no answer came from the other side, Mike placed the food in front of Leo's door and moved into the shadows. Watching Leo's door to make sure his brother was still in there, the door opened and a katana pulled the food into the room. Mike smiled weakly and limped to his room where he laid on his bed and closed his eyes, worn out from all the moving he had done today and the growing pain in his leg. Sighing, Mike fell asleep.
Hours passed and once more, Leo's door opened. This time a figure came out. Walking in the shadows, Leo walked into Mike's room and placed a note on his end table. Tears gleamed in the dim light as Leo turned and walked out. Walking back to his room, Leo grabbed the bag he had put the things he wanted in and walked out of the lair.
Once again, hours passed and a heart stopped beating. A figure walked through the shadows of the Lair, aiming for Mike's room. They walked in and came out a few minutes later, tears running down their face and dripping loudly onto the cement floor. Shaking their head, they ran out of the lair as fast as they could.
Days passed and the three remaining turtles stood around the wooden coffin that they had created. The three were standing in Casey's grandma's house with Casey and April. Tears ran unashamed and faces were pale. Leo knelt by the coffin and placed a flower into Mike's hands. Standing, Leo walked out of the house and to the barn before turning and sprinting through the forest nearby.
"Leo," April whispered, following Leo with her gaze.
"Don't worry Ape," Casey said through his tears. "He'll be ok."
April nodded and leaned against Casey who had his arm around her shoulder.
Days passed and the burial went according to plan but no one saw Leo except when he had left the house. Don and Raph had gone out every day possible but the snow had begun to fall a little harder than realized, almost catching Don and Raph in it.
"There's no way we're going to be able to find him in that," Don said, standing at the window and watching the blizzard blow by.
"I hope we don't loose another brother now," Raph said, gripping his fisted.
"We won't Raph," Don said. "Leo will get through this some how."
But the storm didn't let up, nor did the fear in the whole house. Raph wouldn't stop looking out the window, trying to get even a glimpse of Leo, Don sat staring into the fire, his thoughts taking him far away, April was either crying upstairs or cooking in the kitchen, and Casey's the only one trying to get everyone into a brighter mood.
A girl runs through the shadows as silent as a still wind. Not even her cloak rustled as she ran. She slid to a stop at the border of New York and Pennsylvania. Glancing around real quick, she ran across the border into New York and began running at, once more, a silent sprint. As the girl ran, nothing made a sound. She ran harder and harder until she was a blur to watching eyes. A boy looked up. The girl ran past again. Sighing, the boy jumped down from the roof of the car he was sitting on and began clapping with a devilish half smile on his face.
"Bravo Kinu," he said, as the girl ran back towards him. "You got faster."
The 13-year-old girl's mid-back length brown hair was tied back into a ponytail and her green eyes were sparkling with a power of its own. Her black cloak was the only protection from the cold night air. Under it she wore a dark orange shirt with navy blue jeans with white sneakers. Breathing hard, she glared at the boy. The boy had the same cloak on and his brown hair, long enough to get into the boy's eyes, was going crazy and his blue eyes showed how devious this 15-year-old has gotten in the past two years. His cloak was open, revealing a dark orchid long leave shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the middle of his lower arm, his light blue jeans, and his white sneakers.
"Thanks for breaking my spirit Jason," the girl said, catching her breath.
I chuckled. My black cloak rustled lightly as a light night breeze caught it and my waist long braided black hair. My green eyes showed my emotions like a book and I walked over to the pair. The cloak I wore blew open, revealing my ping t-shirt, my navy blue jeans, and my pink sneakers. Smiling that devious half smile the boy had shown earlier, I stood next to my brother and sister.
"Aw, is my older brother and sister getting into a fight again?" I asked, trying to keep from laughing.
"Back off Kutiel," the boy snapped at me. "I don't need an eleven year old telling me what's going on."
I chuckled again and turned on my heels.
"Fine by me," I said over my shoulder. "Sly's not going to be happy to know that you two were fighting again."
"Kutiel," the boy said through clenched jaws.
"Jason," I said, turning and mocking the boy's voice.
"Guys," the girl said, her eyes flashing panic.
"Kinu," I said, mocking my sister's voice. "I'm 11 and I don't need to be treated like I'm 2."
"You sure do act like it," Jason said with that half smile he inherited from our dad.
"Like you don't," I said, looking at my brother.
"Come on guys," Kinu said. "We need to get going."
I smiled that half smile I also inherited from our father and followed my older sister, my older brother falling in behind.
"Run, Ashara, run!" a male voice yelled, breaking the silence, the sound of guns firing following.
"Sly! Jarred!" a girl's voice yelled.
"Run!" the same male voice yelled, the sound of guns being fired still ringing through the night. A girl ran over the top of the hill, no older than 7 with brown shoulder length hair and wide, scared eyes, her black cloak flapping open revealing her dark green v-neck t-shirt, green jeans, and white shoes. A boy, no older than 9, ran over the hill next, gaining on the girl. His ear length black hair and blue eyes shinned in the moonlight and his black cloak was open. His deep sky blue shirt was flapping in the air as he sped down the hill, his navy blue jeans getting caught on branches and his blue sneakers getting covered in mud from last night's rain.
"There!" the boy yelled, pointed to an outcrop of rock, as he pulled even with the girl. The girl nodded and dove behind it, the boy on her heels.
A few seconds later, the gunfire getting louder, a 17-year-old boy stumbles over the top of the hill. His buzzed cut, thick black hair made his green eyes shine brighter than normal as he tried to keep his black cloak closed. His sienna shirt was visible through the opening of the boy's cloak and his blue jeans were covered with mud as well as his black sneakers. Stumbling again, the girl jumped up from behind the rock, pulling her dagger out from its sheath on her right side, in one fluid motion and she began sprinting towards the older boy, her cloak forgotten with the other boy.
"Ashara! NO!" the older boy called as a shot ran out. The girl winced as the bullet went straight through her left shoulder but she kept running to the older boy. She made it just as the boy was on his feet and she grabbed his hand. They both sprinted down the hill and slid behind the outcrop. The younger boy pointed to a ditch to the right and the older boy nodded. The younger boy smiled and crawled along the outcrop to the ditch and slid in. The older boy crawled over to the ditch and discovered that it was a good 6 feet deep. The girl crawled over, not using her left arm, and, with a little help, slid into the ditch. The older boy was last to get into the ditch and nodded to the younger boy. He smiled and led both the girl and older boy along the ditch.
Don gasped. Tears were frozen on the other turtle's face, having found the one thing everyone was dreading. Leo was dead. Raph rapped his arm around his younger brother's shoulder and pulled him into his chest. Shutters ran through a body as cries came roughly. April led the two turtles back to the house, Casey staying behind to take care of Leo. Once inside, Raph separated from his brother and not even 6 feet from April and his brother, he lost the contents in his stomach. Don collapsed to his knees and began to break down. April was crying beside Don when Casey came in with Leo in his arms. Neither turtle looked at the second brother they had lost as Casey placed him on the couch. Raph got up and looked at April with tears still coming down with a burning question in his eyes. April nodded and Raph left the house and aimed for the barn.
"W-where is h-he going?" Don chocked out between sobs.
"The barn," April said, pulling Don's head onto her shoulder where Don began crying hard again. "He wanted to personally make the…"
April couldn't make herself finished as Don began crying harder. April looked at Casey and Casey nodded. He left the house and went for the barn. He opened the barn door to find Raph sitting on an anvil, one of Leo's swords in his hands. Casey walked over and placed a hand on Raph's shoulder. Raph looked up, his face a mask of neutral emotions, and looked back at the sword.
"It's ok Raph," Casey said, tightening his grip lightly on Raph's shoulder. "There's nothing to hide."
Raph's body began to shudder and Casey smiled weakly, knowing Raph was sobbing now. Squeezing Raph's shoulder quickly, Casey left the barn. When the door was closed, Casey could here the wails from Raph's cries from inside. Sighing, Casey headed for the house.