Ch1 Reflections
"And in other news, the city of New York takes a moment to stop and remember the day the aliens known as The Kraang invaded our fair city, one month ago today when..."
Splinter sat on the couch staring at the TV, listening to the newscast with a sad, tired expression. His sons sat with him, finding it hard to believe that it had already been a month since the attack. Splinter sighed as the news ended. He stood up, saying nothing, and went to the dojo. His sons watched him leave before they too began to get up and walk away. Donnie went to his lab and Mikey walked to his room.
Raph sat on the couch watching them all leave, waiting for someone or something to bring the lair back to it's old self. But that would not happen. Had it really been a month? He wondered to himself. A month since April's dad had returned, a month since Splinter fought the Shredder in an attempt to save April's life after her father had unintentionally let Shredder take her and trade her to the Kraang. A month since Leo had jumped out of TCRI after causing it blow up. Raph sighed, had it really been a month since the Technodome went down off New York harbor. Had it really been a month...since Leo died?
Raph shook his head as the last memory of his big brother returned. The last time he saw him, doing his fearless leader thing. Protecting his brothers, holding back the enemy, in this case, Kraang Prime. Ensuring that the humans, his brothers and friend got out alive.
"But what about you Leo?" Raph whispered as he rubbed his tired, red eyes. "Why didn't you get out alive?"
He stood up and slowly walked toward Leo's room, as he had done so many times since they came home that fateful night. He placed his hands on the door, debating weather to go in. No one had entered the room for a month now. No one had even bothered to peek in and see how it was left.
Raph chuckled inwardly to himself as he thought about how Leo always kept his room: clean, tidy, dusted, perfect. That was Leo all the way around, perfect son, student, brother. Perfect. Raph ran his thumb over the metal door, still thinking about going in, but as he had done so many times before, he walked away leaving the room alone once again and going into his own.
Splinter stood in the dojo, staring at the picture of his beloved family on the little alter he had created. He had been attempting to meditate but every time he closed his eyes, he would think of the last time he saw and spoke to his son. The words he told him, advising him that the mission must be completed no matter what or who had to be sacrificed. He had never wanted that sacrifice to be his son, but he knew Leo would do what he had to do to complete the mission. Splinter shook his head. "Had it really been a month?" He wondered. He shook his head again as the memory of the battle between him and Shredder crossed his mind again. To know that one month ago he found out something from Shredder that only made his hate for him grow. To find out that the daughter he had thought he lost so many years ago was actually still alive and being raised by a man as evil as Oroku Saki. To know that Karai was actually Miwa.
Splinter sighed as his eyes roamed from his family portrait to the small picture of his oldest son. After the news of Leo's death, Splinter had placed the small picture next to the other one so he could honor them together. His eyes roamed over the picture as he remembered how Leo use to be. His bright, shining saphire blue eyes showed a wisdom beyond his years. The smile on his face showed a charm that few could ignore and the way he carried himself brought out a confidence all could see. Splinter ran a paw over his son's picture, his beautiful child. Splinter sighed once again as he wondered what horrible thing he had done in this life to lose two of his children at such young ages only to have one now be alive and hating him due to the lies of such an evil heart. Splinter crumbled to the ground and sobbed as he held Leo's picture close to his chest. It was never fair for a parent to have to lose a child. At some point he would move on, he knew this and eventually he would be back with his other sons. But right now, he still needed to grieve.
Mikey was laying on his bed, tear stains on his orange mask, he wiped his face with one arm as he held a comic in the other. He had yet to read it. Leo had left it in the living room just before his Space Heroes tv show had come on. The comic was one of his many Space Heroes comic, and he had not had a chance to put it away before they left to infiltrate TCRI.
"A month," Mikey thought as he smoothed the comic, "how could it have only been a month since Leo had gone away?" He thought about that day, the last time they saw him. He had blamed himself, if only he had not tripped, been brave like his brother and not panicked. Kept running instead of looking behind. Maybe even tried to help his brother push back Kraang Prime in some way. Maybe, just maybe he'd still be alive. Maybe. His thoughts trailed away as he looked down at the cover of the comic. Leo always wanted to be like his hero, Capt Ryan. Mikey sighed and began to sob. Deep down, he always wanted to be like Leo.
Donnie sat in his lab staring at his computer. He was still trying to figure out the retromutagen formula but his fingers just hovered over the keyboard and his mind was elsewhere. He thought about that day a month ago, remembering how his brother had jumped out ot the window of TCRI. He remembered the fear and the horror he felt when he saw Leo plunging to his death and the huge sigh of relief he and Mikey let out when Raph had caught him. He then thought about how Leo had sacrificed himself so that he and the others could escape. He thought about how they had been on the water for what felt like an eternity in that escape pod, searching the vast endless ocean in hopes of seeing some glimpse of their brother. Hoping and wating with bated breath that he come up to the surface. He then remembered his Sensei's face when they arrived home.
The look of grief and pain that filled his eyes was something Donnie had never wanted to see. Up until then he could only imagine what that kind of grief had felt like. Up until then he had only imagined what his Sensei had gone through all those years ago when he lost his first family. But now he knew. And it was a pain unlike any other. A pain that may dull in time but never goes away.
As he sat there, his mind so far away and his heart aching with a pain larger then the universe itself, a sudden noise brought him out of his thoughts.