A/N: Here's a warning to the readers, this is the follow-up of an AU/Crossover fan-fiction. If you don't want to get confused, I suggest you read Night Skies. I promise it's not too long or bad-just different.
Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT.
The stars hung in the heavy violet velvet sky. There was no moon on this night. It was new, turning its prying eyes away from humanity and the troubles on Earth for the night. Tomorrow it would be back to witness the carnage and destruction again, but tonight the Earth was alone.
Leonardo preferred it that way. Nothing to illuminate him as he moved through the dense growth of the jungle. His movements were fluid and silent as he leapt from branch to thick branch, never disturbing the animals that slept or the animals that hunted. Muscle rippled underneath the emerald green skin that glistened with a thin sheen of sweat. He came to a sudden halt among the leaves, going from fluid and limber to stiff and solid. He was perched in the crook of several tree branches, his calloused hands supported half of his weight while his powerful legs, folded underneath him on another branch, supported the rest of him.
Blue strips of cloth fluttered behind him, rising and falling with the gentle breeze that swept through the jungle, taking his scent with it to the predators that hunted in the dense undergrowth. They would scatter upon his scent or converge upon it, as he had developed a reputation with the wilderness just as he had developed one among the few human settlements in the vicinity.
His hazel gaze stared ahead, capturing the amber glow of flames as harsh and guttural laughter rang through the trees. His features remained unreadable and almost unemotional. Their was a splintering sound and a spray of embers and ash as the flames rose higher into the sky. He stared, unable to tear his gaze away.
He could hear the voices. Their voices. He could still feel the agony of the flames from another time. His gaze hardened and his body tensed. He could hear their cries of pain and agony.
Leonardo's eyes darted aside at the sound of a heavily accented voice shouting in Spanish. He caught sight of a battered old jeep bouncing along a dirt road and laden with treasures and trinkets.
He turned away from the flames and followed the vehicle through the canopy, easily keeping pace as he leapt from branch to branch, swinging under sharp-edged leaves and twisted limbs. He glanced back down at the jeep and watched it.
A woman outlined in blue flashed through his mind and his gaze narrowed as he raced ahead of the jeep. He leapt through hanging vines and at once, his feet struck the trunk of a dead tree and his body curled into a crouch in the split second it took for him to land there. The trunk groaned and creaked as his powerful legs pushed off of it. He leapt into the hanging vines as the tree uttered a sharp snapping sound and tumbled through the undergrowth and mass of vines to land with a muffled thump in the middle of the narrow dirt road. Leonardo hung from the vines, his left hand wrapped around one as he waited intently. At the sound of creaking tires he clambered up the vine, scuttling into the thick and leafy canopy as the jeep's brakes struggled to a skidding halt before the fallen trunk.
Leonardo watched from a thick branch high up in the canopy. He stood stock still, spine erect and with one hand on a loose vine.
"¡Idiota! Watch where you're going." Came the harsh sound of a male voice along with the resounding smack of a hand against the back of a head.
"There's a log on the road, señor." Was the soft-spoken and timid reply.
His hazel gaze scanned the ground below him, measuring the enemies arrayed against him. Four men. Three armed with guns.
"Well, if you're not too busy-remove it!"
Leonardo remained silent, but took note of the anger in the man's tone. That one was obviously the leader, and would likely be easy to take down once his followers were out.
"Cortés, handle it."
One of the men leapt out of the vehicle, setting his rifle aside and moving to the front of the jeep. He tugged a towing cable free of the ram bar as he approached the fallen tree.
Leonardo slid down the vine, landing softly on his feet in a crouch behind a tree before rolling forward to the fallen obstruction. He crouched behind it, pressing his shell to the mossy wood and listening intently as the man's boot crunched over exotic beetles and dirt. Leonardo swiftly reached over the side of the obstruction, grabbing the man by the collar of his shirt and dragging him over the fallen tree. Leo pressed a hand firmly over the man's open mouth as he dragged him away into the undergrowth, keeping the human male in a sleeper hold even as he heard the others make sounds of panic.
The man in his grip squirmed and fought against him, even going so far as to try biting the inside of his hand. Leonardo only tightened his arm around the human's throat, nearly crushing the man's wind pipe. The human's efforts became more feeble and slow as he slipped into unconsciousness. The human slumped limply in his grip.
He dropped the now unconscious male and clambered up another tree. He moved out on a branch over another human. This one carried a rifle. Leonardo knelt on the sturdy branch and removed a rope from the small pack he carried with him. He waited for the right opportunity before dropping it over the second man. Leonardo swiftly pulled up on the rope an it tightened around the human's midsection. Leo dropped to the ground while gripping the rope, using the branch and rope as a pulley system. The man spun wildly as he flew into the leafy canopy. Shots fired from his rifle in panic. Leonardo gripped the rope tightly, the muscles in his arms strained to keep the heavy human up in the tree tops as he knelt low to the ground, watching his remaining opponents.
"The ghost of the jungle. He punishes those who prey upon the weak." Came the soft-spoken man's shaking voice as he moved cautiously in front of the jeep, panicked eyes scanning the jungle around him.
Leonardo sat in wait, considering the human. He released his grip on the rope and it flew through his open hands. The man in the canopy fell to the ground with a thud before the soft-spoken human.
As Leonardo predicted, the human gave a panicked cry and ran off afraid despite his leader's rough snarl.
Leonardo watched the larger human step out of the jeep, waving a machete around with nervous and angry steps.
"Show yourself. Do you realize who you're dealing with?" The leader barked out, backing up against Leo's hiding spot. The blue masked terrapin silently rose to his feet behind the man, most of his form concealed by the leafy plants. He had nothing to fear now that this one man remained without a gun.
His hazel gaze glimmered dangerously and the man whirled around with a shout of surprise at the sight of seemingly disembodied eyes. Leonardo stiffened and fell back a step as the man whirled around and ran.
The terrapin warrior shook his head as whispering memories tugged at his consciousness. He bit back a snarl and ran after the human who had tumbled down a ravine. Leonardo leapt gracefully, his body twisting before landing in front of the human with his knees bent to absorb the shock of the fall. He rose to his full height, gaze narrowed and judging of the human filth before him.
The man shouted angry and violent words, lifting his machete defiantly as he challenged Leonardo.
The blue masked terrapin considered the enemy before him as he reached over his shoulder and unsheathed a katana. It hissed quietly as it exited its scabbard. Leo's hazel gaze seemed to dull and go flat as he rushed forward to meet the human that brandished the machete at him. Leonardo easily smacked the machete out of the man's hand with his katana before gripping the human's left wrist and spinning the large person into the ground face first. The man cried out as Leo's katana swung into his shoulder. The terrapin's hazel gaze held no mercy and no respite for the man on the ground-only contempt. The blade threatened to cleave the man in two unequal halves.
The human squirmed underneath him, and he glared at its backside. It was another target, another necessary kill for the Taskforce.
Leo froze, the katana embedded deeply into the man's shoulder and collar-bone. Blood spilled from the grievous wound, flowing heavily and in spurts as it pooled beneath the twitching and moaning body. His hand slipped free of the hilt of his katana and he stepped back, eyes wide. His chest heaved and heavy gasps escaped him as he stumbled into a tree. He leaned against it and screwed his eyes shut as his heart pounded heavily beneath his plastron.
Flashes of shadow and red eyes darted through his mind. A ticking sound thundered as it reverberated through his skull, increasing in volume with each tick. He pressed a hand to his chest and tried evening out his breathing.
"It's over. Just a memory. It's over. Just a memory." He whispered to himself in a mantra as he fought against the waves of pain and panic. He heaved a breath, expelling his panic and despair, before sinking to the ground with his shell to the tree. His eyelids flickered open and he stared at the human's still twitching body with his katana sticking out of its upper body. Leo stared with a broken expression.
He closed his eyes once more with a resigned breath.
.,.,.,.,.
Raphael yawned behind his helmet. He stretched his arms and listened carefully as the leather of his suit creaked at the movement. He'd need to oil that later. He sighed and leaned back, letting his amber gaze drift up to the night sky up above his head. He couldn't make out anything other than the winking lights of airplanes in the sky. He rolled his eyes and dropped his gaze to the world beneath his dangling feet as he sat on the edge of a rooftop up above the city below. The lights from the city glowed brilliantly. The glare of the light glimmered off the metal of his suit and faceplate. He rolled his shoulders and yawned again.
The night was drawing to an end. It would be morning soon. His brothers would be up in about three hours or so. His father in one. Maybe less.
Had Leo been around, they'd have been up an hour ago running through katas and hanging on to his every word. Raph rolled his eyes and rose to his feet. They'd thought he was such a hero at the time. Licking his heels as if they tasted like goddamn strawberries. They'd been idiots to follow Leo around like lost puppies, as if their older brother had been their fearless leader. Perfection personified.
He hated moments like these. When the crime dwindled to nothing. When he had nothing but his thoughts to deal with. He hated it because it always lead to the same thing: Leo. He wasn't even mad at Leo to begin with. Not at first anyways, but with so much down time, Leo was the one thing that always came to mind. It was easier to blame everything that went wrong on Leo. He knew it wasn't right, but he didn't have anything else to do when he was alone with his thoughts.
Raphael shook his head, trying to disperse his anger at his older brother.
He turned and walked, each step weighed down by the heavy armor he wore to protect his body and identity. More his physiology than anything. He didn't need some idiot criminal screaming about turtles attacking in the dead of night. His family was already suspicious enough about his late night activities.
He snorted as he dropped on the fire escape below with a heavy thud. They were suspicious about his activities but not their missing brother's. Leo was just perfect enough to go missing for an extra year and still be earning praise about his efforts and training. As if. Their brother was probably living the good life deep in the boonies. Sitting back and drinking in the tranquility of the jungle. Meditating and surrounded by candles in "harmony" with the wilderness. Probably all too happy to leave the family behind. It was one less huge scrap of stress to deal with.
There he went again, thinking about Leo.
Raphael slid down the rungs of the fire escape and landed in a puddle with a soft splash. Raph honestly didn't blame his brother for wanting to be away. He'd like the peace of mind. Being able to hear his own thoughts without anyone else's interruptions would have been a godsend.
He lifted a manhole cover and leapt in, sliding it closed above him.
He removed his helmet silently, his amber eyes reflected in the surface of the dirty water beneath him. But he was Raphael, not Leonardo the master ninja, not Donatello the brilliant genius, and not Michelangelo the witty jack-of-all-trades. He was the muscle, and the only thing reserved for muscle was to push and stand. He didn't need any sort of special training. The only training he was fit for was physically demanding. What would living in the jungle do for the family other than be a waste of an asset?
He trudged through the sewers. He probably wouldn't have been sent on a training mission to parts unknown until he was well into his thirties, either way. Now with the obedient child off playing hooky, he doubted he'd have a chance to be sent at all. He'd be resigned to the mean streets of New York City. He didn't dislike the idea of that. But it would have been nice to see a jungle that wasn't made of brick and concrete.
He strode up to a wall and pulled the pipe that acted as the key to their home. The wall slid apart and he stepped in. He was taking a risk to enter the lair in his armor, but he'd been too tired to lug the armor around in a bag. It'd been a long night and he was getting tired of doing this on his own. It had exhilarated him at the beginning, not having to worry about his brothers getting injured. Not having to take anyone's orders but his own. He hadn't had to pull back his punches and he'd felt free. It felt free until he got hit by a bullet at nearly point-blank range. It had scared the crap out of him and he was lucky the bullet had ricocheted off his armor.
The boots he wore thudded softly as he made his way up the stairs, heading for his room. He passed by Leonardo's room and paused for a moment, turning his amber gaze on the worn frame of the door. He stared before snorting and shaking his head irritably, heading for his own room.
He opened his door and slammed it shut, not caring if anyone heard. He tossed the helmet on his bed before plopping down next to it with a yawn.
Leo wasn't going to come back. He knew it, and he was perfectly fine with it now.
After that first year, he waited for Leo's return with bated breath. He waited. Patiently-impatiently-it didn't matter. He had waited and Leo hadn't shown up. There were no letters. None at all since that first year he spent away. It wasn't even a year, maybe six months at the most. Nothing came from South America. Raph could assume that his brother was dead, but that would've been too easy. Leonardo wasn't the type to just lay down and die. To die meant failure, and failing wasn't something that Raphael's "oh so fearless leader" could do. The red masked turtle began unbuckling the straps of his armor in the darkness. His thick fingers fumbled over the straps, pulling at the belted leather across his body.
The fact that Leo wasn't dead made it all the more painful for Raphael. His brother was out living it up without him or anyone else. Leo was alone, and he was enjoying it.
He shook his head and leaned back where he sat, his gaze fixated on the low ceiling of his room. He exhaled heavily and muttered a curse under his breath. If Leo didn't want to be around them, then Raph didn't want to be around his brother.
.,.,.,.,.
Michelangelo yawned as he sat on the couch and grabbed the remote from the cushion beside him. He rubbed at his eyes tiredly and turned the T.V. on before beginning to sift through the channels, searching for something to watch to fill up the time. He'd found himself having plenty of extra time during the day, even in between each time he had to leave for a party-gig. He leaned back into the couch and blinked sleepily as another news report came on.
He stretched his arms and smacked his lips before relaxing again. He kind of missed the morning training and late night patrol runs across the city. He missed being able to pick on Raphael and not getting a black eye out of it. He missed the casual manner Donatello used to have with them, but even Don's friendly disposition was gone. Splinter filled up his own time watching his "shows" and meditating. Mikey didn't know much about getting old, but he was certain it wasn't good for Splinter's health to always be frowning.
Mikey sighed and glanced at Don's empty work station. His brother was probably trying to get in as much sleep as he could before he had to start his next shift of work. It really had taken a lot out of his older brother. Don wasn't himself anymore. Mikey knew his brother had yearned to be able to freely converse with humans, and to be among those that would understand his vast intelligence. Being an on-call tech support technician did nothing for those aspirations. Don was meeting the worst of people. There were those who didn't understand computers, those that were too stupid for their own good, the violent and easy to anger type, and the constant stream of desperate people thinking it was a phone line for the less than romantic conversations.
Dealing with such people had broken Donatello's aspirations. It had worn him down and made him grow to hate humans.
Mikey watched the television with disinterest. He had hoped to see a special report on the newest vigilante in town: the Nightwatcher. He liked reminiscing the past. He remembered what it was like to be responsible for saving people from criminals and monsters in human skin. It had felt nice, to be more than just some perversion of nature and science. To be a hero.
He turned the TV off. Those days were over, at least as long as his eldest brother was gone.
He wasn't mad that Leo was gone. Unlike Raph or Don, he just wanted Leo home, no questions asked. He didn't care what Leo did that had kept him away for so long, Mikey just wanted his brother back. He wanted his family normal again instead of constantly fighting.
He rose to his feet and padded softly to his father's room, pausing outside of the half-open door, avoiding the glow of the candles within that escaped through the entrance.
"What troubles you, my son?" Came the steady voice of his father. Mikey rubbed the back of his neck and glanced upstairs before entering and standing awkwardly in front of his father. The aged ninja master looked weary and tired as he knelt on a tatami mat in front of Mikey. His soft gaze rose to meet his son's own tender blue eyes. Mikey wrung his hands in nervousness, Splinter noticed.
"Michelangelo," he began.
"Master, I want to go find Leo." Mikey interrupted before freezing and stiffening, just realizing that he'd interrupted his father. The old ninja waved it off and gestured for Mikey to kneel.
The young terrapin complied and met his father's gaze with desperation in his eyes.
"Michelangelo, your duty to your brothers is commendable, but I cannot allow you to leave in search of your brother. We must keep faith in Leonardo's return."
"Sensei, he's been gone for two years! How much longer do we have to wait? What if he's hurt or worse? Why did he have to go in first place? I mean, it's not like he needed anymore training."
"That is enough, Michelangelo. I will not sit idly by as you pass judgement over things you do not understand. You are not the first of your brothers to request such a journey for Leonardo's sake. I hold faith in your brother, as should you."
Mikey looked away. "Yeah, well, I understand well enough." He muttered darkly as he rose to his feet. "You just don't want the risk of losing another son. I don't blame you for that, Sensei."
He turned and moved to exit the room but paused at the doorway and glanced over his shoulder at Master Splinter. He opened his mouth to speak only to clamp it shut and turn away, heading into the main room of the lair and leaving Splinter to his own guilt.
"Why do you not come to us, Leonardo?" He whispered.
.,.,.,.,.
Donatello carefully made his way down the steps of the stairs that led from the bedrooms to the ground floor, yawning as he did so. His left hand trailed over the metal railing as a precaution should he lose his balance. It wouldn't have been the first time he'd fallen asleep while walking down the stairs, but he wouldn't end up lying face first at the bottom steps again. He blinked tiredly and took another step down the stairs only to stumble back and nearly fall on his shell as something fast and solid bumped into him.
Don instinctively reached out and grabbed his aggressor by the upper arm. His coffee brown gaze turned an accusing eye on his youngest brother who met his glare with an angered one. Don frowned and his hand fell from Mikey's arm.
"What happened?" He asked softly, somehow managing to be kind despite not having gotten much sleep or any coffee yet.
Mikey just shook his head and started back up the steps. Don reached out and placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "Mikey," he began.
"Donnie, I don't want to talk about it. You wouldn't understand." He muttered under his breath, glancing at the currently established leader of the clan with soft blue eyes.
Don studied him for a moment, assessing the situation. "This is about Leo, isn't it?"
Mikey looked away before shaking Don's hand off. "Don't pretend to care about him. You're just as angry at him as Raph is. Why am I the only one who still wants him back home?"
Don fell back a step at the bitter response to his question. His face took on a surprised and hurt expression. Sure, he had been upset with Leo, but it never was anything farther than that. Leo had ditched them and dumped all of his duties on Donatello's shoulders. Yes, Don was upset that Leo still had not returned, but he understood now what Leo had been forced to cope with. The stress and rigors of leadership were no easy burden. If anything, Don had grown to respect his brother more after each passing day, though he began to resent his brother as well. How could Leo abandon them like this? Sure the job was tough, just as the solitary training must be as well, but Leo was needed here at home and his training period ended a year ago. That a few days ago had been his birthday did nothing to appease the sense of distance and loss from the blue masked turtle.
Michelangelo was right and wrong. Don was upset with Leo, but he still cared about his eldest brother. He worried for him every day. A solitary training period in South America was no simple task. It was dangerous beyond measure in every sense of the word. Leo was alone in one of the deadliest ecosystems on Earth. He had no contact with anyone, he had no one to doctor him and he would have to hunt for his own meals. The animals there were exotic and deadly, the vegetation could kill him if he ate the wrong fruit or berry, and the water was filled with crippling pathogens and carnivorous amoeba.
Don turned his eyes back to Mikey but the words he wanted to say would not move from his tongue.
Mikey knew what his brother wanted to say. He looked away with a guilty expression. "I'm sorry, Donnie, that was unfair. I just... I want him back home y'know." He sighed before heading up the stairs to his room.
Donatello watched his youngest brother before dropping his gaze to the ground. He stood there, frozen in thought, before turning and heading down the stairs to his work station. He sat down and went to work, fingers flying across the keys and eyes darting over the screens. He rolled his chair to the desk beside his array of computers and sifted through several envelopes. He nodded and retrieved one before rolling back to his computers. He opened the envelope and unfolded a scrap of paper. He fished out a photograph from within the envelope and stared at it. He'd memorized the photograph and the letter long ago. The photo was beautiful, no matter how many times he recalled it, memories couldn't compare to the real picture.
He stared and a smile crept across his features. His brother had crawled up to the treetops, fighting against over protective mother birds and agitated monkeys to take the photo of the sunrise over the jungle. The sky was a mix of orange, yellow, and blue. The sun crested over the treetops and a trio of birds had flown out over the jungle. Don scrutinized the photo. Sure enough, there was a small village in the far left corner of the photograph. He could barely see the stone tops of several buildings.
He set aside the photograph and lifted the letter, eyes scanning over the torn and weathered paper, reading the neat handwriting that was from his eldest brother's hand. He found a scattering of details and typed those in as well.
He sifted through files.
He must have spent at least three hours sitting there, searching before he finally found what he was looking for. He tapped the side of his headset, having put it on an hour ago.
"Dial April."
He waited, tapping his hand on his keyboard idly until she finally answered.
"April, I'm sorry for the short notice, but are you still headed into Brazil for that expedition next week?"
He nodded as she replied in the positive. "Can I ask that you do me a huge favor?"
He exhaled slowly. "I need you to head to these coordinates: -3.062112,-57.689242."
He paused as she wrote them down. "Those coordinates should lead you to my brother. He shouldn't have moved, but if he has, it won't be far from there," he paused. "Just try to get him to understand that we need him. I'll send some items your way to help persuade him."
He waited for her confirmation. "Thanks, April. One more thing," he said before glancing around to make sure that none of his brothers were in earshot.
"He hasn't been in contact with anyone in nearly two years. Be careful, I don't know what he's been through in that jungle. Promise me you'll tell me if anything happens, for both your sake and his."
He sighed as she agreed to his request. "Thanks. I hope you find him." He said before tapping the side of his headset and ending the call. He glanced up at his computer screens and his fingers flew across the keyboard as he worked to erase all evidence of his hacking into the federal satellite systems.
A/N: So how was that for the first chapter? That's right, chapter. This thing is gonna have a few of those. Here's a fair warning: Twinkle is going to get dark. Really dark. Next chapter should be up this week too, seeing as I had to split up this chapter after I made my edits. Have any questions, feel free to leave it in a review, PM, or you can ask me on my Tumblr page.
For you readers, there's a homework assignment on my author's bio in the links section. Believe me when I say you need to do this to get a feel for the next update.