Can't Pretend
"A devastating event involving the Kraang Portal sends Karai and Leo to a different dimension. Determined to return home they must trust and rely on each other. Set immediately after 1x21."
I OWN NOTHING BUT THIS RIDICULOUS IDEA
Hi! This is my second Leorai story and I am very excited to get this started! I have it all mapped out and have the goals set in mind so I want to thank the people that decide to come on this journey. It's going to be a big one.
Fair warning: This is going to be an M rated story, and while it will take some time for the M to come into play – this is a build-up story. Massive build-up, but it's necessary! - just be prepared.
Thank you to anyone who decides to give this a go, it really means a lot and I look forward to hearing your feedback.
Blinded
Love, I have wounds, only you can mend
you can mend
I guess that's love, I can't pretend
I cant pretend
Can't Pretend – Tom Odell
The night has barely begun when Leonardo leads his team around the top of TCRI, skirting around the edge with their new mechanical wings that Donnie created that morning. It was time to take down that portal.
April was another reason. Now living in the sewer, her freedom has been ripped away as she now has two threats.
Some of the cleverly disguised windows are unlocked and Leonardo gets on one knee, his hand pushing the glass up as his brothers climb in one by one. He casts a glance out at the city, his city that he loves so much and protects the best he can.
He shuts the window behind him and drops his wings on the ground. If all goes well, the team can make it back here, slip on their new invention and escape out this very window.
They move quickly, the point of this mission was to get in and get out. The chances of being caught are high and realistically, will happen but that does not deter Leonardo in the slightest as he moves to the elevator.
Learning from last time, Donnie brings out the Kraang's head he had recovered months ago when he first built Metalhead and accessed the lift. His large thumb presses into the highest floor number as Raphael moves the cover off the elevator, allowing the turtles to climb into the shaft.
They ride the elevator to the top with no complications.
However, when they climb back down and slip into the Portal room, complications arise very quickly at the scene that greets them.
By the portal, speaking naturally with the Kraang as her hip juts out, resting on her right leg is Karai. She gestures to the portal and Leo can hear her tone rise an octave as she does so. She's working with them?
Raphael tenses next to him, "I told ya, Leo. She can't be trusted."
Maybe so, and after what she did to April, Leo should have lost faith in her redemption then but the familiar pull he feels whenever he is in her presence returns. As if feeling it as well, Karai whips around, catching his eyes in an instant.
Her eyes widen as she looks over them, surprised by their sudden appearance but it's gone as soon as it came and she takes her tanto from behind her back, determination replacing the carefully hidden shock. Leonardo fumbles a bit with his Niten Ryu, almost sending it clattering to the ground as the Kraang nearest to him reaches for it's weapon.
Mikey acts quickly, digging the blade of his Kusarigama into the droids head with a battle cry.
"Take care of the Kraang," Leo shouts to his team as the fight quickly begins, "I've got the portal."
Upon hearing his words, Karai slowly smirks and stands guard, her tanto twirling in her fingers tauntingly. Come and get it.
He pounces towards her, his katana knocking against her tanto with all intent to knock her away from the portal. With Donnie attempting to override the system and shut down the portal, Leo couldn't be sure if it would explode or not – and no matter how pissed Karai was with them, he would not let her die over this.
Something Leo has always admired about Karai is that she fights with passion. It was different to the times when they would spar on the rooftops or in alleyways just for the sake of it, just to prove a point that never got resolved – there was something else she fought with, and he could see it in her eyes when they locked blades. Determination, fiery passion and above all, fear.
That fear was carefully concealed, but he saw it. It was hidden well, behind the rage that seemed to blind her but it was there and he began to hesitate as she pushed away from him, her tanto coming right for him again. He knocked it away easily enough. The urge to fight back, however, was absent.
He wants to sigh, to stop her and talk over what had transpired between them the past two weeks but he couldn't afford to be weak now, not when Karai was unstable enough as it was. April overpowered her, and Leo had stayed away from the group as she told the story, mulling over how the hell did Karai manage to be defeated? Not that April wasn't good, she was certainly becoming better over the months, but Karai had been training her whole life – so how?
It occurred to him a few days ago – another moment where he brooded, sitting on his bed and staring down at the knife she threw to him all those weeks ago – that she was blinded by her rage, just as Shredder had been.
He did not want to believe it ran in the family. He couldn't, because if that were true, Karai would never be saved.
"Fight me," she hisses as he blocks another flurry of attacks on her part.
"I don't want to do this now, Karai." He begins, locking blades once more and seizing her wrist to keep her in place. "We have to talk about it."
Her eyes search his and for a split second, he sees the longing there – longing for a friend, he had recognised that on the rooftop when she first propositioned becoming allies for a short term. Then her brows furrow and she rears back before slamming her forehead against his, causing him to release her and stumble backwards.
"Guys, watch out!" Donatello's voice is so loud that he blocks out the sounds of battle.
Leo barely has time to register what happens before Karai; standing too close to the portal, is suddenly sucked in. Without a second thought, he follows after her, calling her name as his brothers shout in union, "Leo!"
Karai lets out a sharp cry as her body connects with the ground beneath her, the dirt damp with water indicating that it must have rained recently. What a stupid thought, she thinks as she lays there panting, collecting the breath that was effectively knocked out of her.
The portal above her opens once more as Leonardo comes flinging towards her. She rolls out of the way in time to avoid impact. He lands with a thud next to her, his arms blocking his fall and his head droops slightly, hovering just above the dirt and gasping.
This would be the time to kill him. This would be the time for revenge.
Her tanto that lays beside her is in her palm immediately as she scrambles to her feet, pointing her weapon to the back of his neck.
"Don't move," she warns when Leo attempts to turn over. To be honest, she isn't afraid of him unarming her, she is afraid that one look into his eyes and she will drop her tanto in defeat. It's better if she can't see him.
"Karai... Karai, don't do this." His words are slow, careful as he tries to bring her back from the edge of rage.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't!"Her breathing becomes ragged as she watches him slowly turn around, as if not to startle her. His blue eyes find her amber ones and she can already feel her face falling, the earlier revenge suddenly becoming very distant in her mind.
"We need to work together."
She scoffs, sheathing her weapon and taking a few steps away from him, her eyes flying to the trees around her. It's not that different from home, but the air tastes slightly different, more bitter. Trees reach into unusual heights as vines fall and twist around the trunks.
"Working together is a concept that is evidently lost on you," Karai snaps as she runs her fingers down the bark of the tree closest to her.
Leo heaves a sigh as he gets to his feet, using his arm to assist him. "Karai, we can argue about this another time but we have to find shelter."
She wants to argue now. She wants to scream and shout that he betrayed her trust, the trust she only relinquished to few people and he went behind her back, that the hurt she felt almost rivalled the hurt she feels whenever she thinks of her mother.
But she knows he's right.
"Lead the way then," Karai relents, dropping her fingers from the tree, her head twisting over her shoulder to look him in the eye. She gives him a nod after a moments hesitation.
Leo watches her for a few moments, deciding whether he should trust her before walking passed her and between trees that seem to stretch on for miles.
The landscape is something out of a fairy tale, the radiation soaked forest glows in the twilight sky as two moons hang high beneath the first splattering of stars. Small creatures that could pass for insects on earth hum softly as they make their way through the forest, skipping over certain objects and at other times, looking closely to inspect something incredible.
When Karai caught sight of insects that almost resembled butterflies, she stopped, but only because they glowed the colours of their wings. The intricate patterns enticed her and Karai moved forward carefully to not startle them, her hand reaching out to touch one. It moved just out of her reach and a small smile broke through on her face. Survival instinct, I suppose. Either way, she watches as more butterflies join this one and holds in a small laugh as one lands on her shoulder, the wings fluttering against her hair.
They were beautiful, as was this world.
Leonardo clears his throat gently. She represses a sigh and quickly wipes the smile off her face as she adopts her usual pissed-off persona, leaving the butterflies to follow him.
The moment of happiness ends abruptly as she stares at the back of Leo's head, his bandanna in a loose knot. Her eyes squint curiously at the mask. She was a ninja and knew what it meant to hide your face, if not just a bit. Protection, a mask of deception at best. Her fingers twitch by her thigh, the urge to undo his bandanna and see his face for what he truly was, was almost too much. The excitement of seeing something new. To see a different side of him.
But she had already experienced his worse side. The side he gets from his sensei. Lack of honour.
Her eyes drop to her feet, watching where she steps and she ignores Leo's offered hand as she skips over a fallen tree, cut down in it's prime.
He mutters a few words under his breath, words she cannot make out as the wind makes it difficult to hear the insects now. They must be getting close to something, anything.
"You can't hate me forever."
"Watch me," Karai replies indifferently.
He stops moving long enough for her to look at him, wondering what the hold up was for. His arms are twisted behind his back, head drooping low and staring at the space between them. "I know that … that my betrayal hurt you, but-"
She interjects, hand resting on her hip as she waves towards him with her other. "You're giving yourself way too much credit." His eyes lift to hers and she looks away quickly, the hurt in his eyes disgusts her. He's not allowed to hurt, not after what he did to her.
"Let's just go." Karai says after a beat of awkward silence.
They continue walking for what feels like hours as Karai follows Leo through the forest with no direction in mind. Every now and then he stops and sniffs the air. The first time she had squinted her eyes at him distastefully, honestly, must he act like an animal? But the next few times he did so, she understood. He's looking for water. Something they would need before tomorrow was through.
His arm suddenly shoots out and he points to a canopy of trees, shielding the ground from any rain that happened to slip off the leaves above. "There, we should stay there for the night."
Not exactly what she had in mind, but she wasn't about to argue. Her legs were starting to ache, despite the years of training she has been put through.
With a half-hearted shrug, Karai sits at the trunk of the tallest tree and leans back, her body armour keeping the bark from scratching into her skin.
"I'll take first watch," Leonardo offers, undoing his belt.
Karai averts her eyes, "I can do it." She says stubbornly.
His answering sigh is of defeat as he chucks his weapons into a pile beneath the trees, his elbow and knee pads following soon after. He sits a fair distance away before turning on his side, his shell towards her.
Disappointment flows through her. She was looking for a fight. Any reason to kill him, really.
Her eyes land on discarded weapons and padding. She should take them and run, leave him here to die. But something keeps her rooted in place, something she cannot pin point.
Honour.
His breathing becomes natural, his chest rising and falling with every breath through his parted lips. Karai has her head against the tree, shifting every so often when the bark begins to rub against her scalp. If she had to estimate, it was nowhere close to being morning but she would not cave, she would stay awake all night while Leo slept. Just to prove a point.
That is when she hears it.
Running water.
Karai casts one glance at Leo's sleeping form before going to investigate. Her hands part the vines that obstruct about thirty percent of her view. About a klick away from where she and Leo took refuge is a creek. Her chest expands with relief.
She drops to her knees and curses lightly when a pebble digs into her shin. She adjusts her leg before cupping the water in her hand.
"Stop!"
Karai drops the water in surprise and it splashes onto her tights. Fuck, it's cold. She glowers at Leonardo as he comes marching over, swords in hand and looking flustered.
"What are you doing?" She barks, wiping her hands off on the grass beneath her.
He sheaths his weapons as he gets closer and kneels beside her, so close that their thighs brush slightly. He does not look at her, only watching the water as if searching for it's secrets.
"It could be poisonous." He explains in a whisper, cupping the water in his own hands.
In her utter disbelief and joy over finding water, she had not even realised that the water was tinged red and smelled slightly off.
Leo raises his hands to his mouth and takes a small, tentative sip of the water. Her eyes pop, searching him for any sign that he was poisoned. After a few beats, he drops the water and stands. "It's safe, the colour must have something to do with the air."
With that, he walks back in the direction of their small refuge and she is left to stare at the red water, wondering why he tested the water for her.
She doesn't dwell on his actions for long as she takes large gulps of the water, drinking the liquid greedily.
The sounds of the forest dwindle around the creek and Karai sits there for a few more minutes just watching the red water wash over the pebbles that seems to go on forever. What did she do to deserve this? Nothing, Karai states in her mind, eyes narrowing. Absolutely nothing.
She did nothing when her father would threaten those beneath him, sometimes innocent people and she knew it. While she would always offer to give them a fighting chance, it was really to keep Shredder's honour from completely evaporating in the name of getting what he wanted. She would stand by and watch as those fell to their knees, begging for mercy only to get their throats slashed open.
It was a good thing she didn't believe in karma, or she would have a lot more heading her way.
Pushing herself to her feet, she walks back slowly to where Leonardo waits. He is sitting up, re-bandaging his fingers when she settles herself on the ground, patting the dirt beneath her to make it softer for her head. He mumbles goodnight so softly that she almost doesn't hear it above the insects and water, but she does and ignores it either way.
Turning on her side, she lets her eyes slip close and loses herself to the darkness.
About five hours later, Leonardo is wide awake and staring at the trees in front of him. The sun has just begun streaming it's rays through the canopy above them, thin beams of light surround the covered area slightly.
To be frank, Leo is afraid to find out what, if anything, resides in this dimension. There had to be some intelligent life on this planet, just some and if not, he was sure that he and Karai would have no chances of getting out of here without that portal. And after being thoroughly separated from where they were dropped from – which he now regrets immensely – they had to rely on the fact that, yes, there was intelligent life here, somewhere.
At the thought of her, he glances at Karai's sleeping form, her legs tugged up to her chest with her elbow tucked beneath her head. She looked innocent, nothing like the manipulative Kunoich he knew her to be, despite what Leo would like to believe. She was the Shredder's daughter and there was no changing that fact.
There was still that part of him that felt for her, whether it was romantic or not any more; he didn't know. What he did know was that he couldn't trust her, not without proper reason – a demonstration from her first – that they could go back to what they were before. Friends, in a way.
He had deluded himself enough into believing she was redeemable, that maybe, just maybe, with enough persuading – she would join their side, his side.
And it was his fault. All his fault for not telling Raphael that no, they would not go behind Karai's back – there was no honour in that. Yet, like the coward he was for fear of being called a shit leader; mocked of his feelings for Karai, her being the reason he would not turn his back on the chance to off Shredder... well, he ruined any chances of Karai trusting him again. All because he was afraid of what his brothers would think.
Karai stirs slightly, her face pressing into her elbow. The rays of light must be tickling the back of her eyelids. He sighs and nudges her leg with his toe, afraid to touch her – she might just fatally injure him and blame it on him for startling her.
"Karai," he attempts to rouse her, nudging the back of her leg again. "It's morning."
She turns on her side rapidly, her hand flinging out to hold her upwards as she glares at him, "you let me sleep for too long."
He rolls his eyes as he stands, wiping off the dirt from the back of his shell. "Welcome as always, Karai, but it's time to go – now."
Karai observes him warily, eyes flitting from his face and to his plastron; trying to decipher his mood. "Did something happen?" For once, her tone doesn't sound as if she is blaming him for breathing her air, but genuinely concerned.
"No, but we shouldn't stay in one place too long," he waves around him, "especially out in the open like this."
She looks like she's about to argue for the pure sake of arguing, but she only sighs and nods once, getting to her feet and copying his gesture by brushing the dirt from her side. The metal armour she had discarded during the night in pure frustration of not being able to get comfortable – the moment where Leo pointedly looked away – lays beneath the tree next to him and she bends to retrieve it. Red rises to his cheeks as he glances away, sure, it was just armour but even so, he averts his eyes to give her some privacy.
She mutters something under her breath, but he doesn't hear it over the clicking of her armour.
"Where to, oh fearless leader?" Karai questions with a raised brow.
He ignores the title, "Anywhere that isn't vulnerable to all this, somewhere that is closed off – safe."
Once more, Karai hesitates – about to argue, but she doesn't and nods stiffly. She follows Leo through the forest, dodging more vines and skipping over more logs – she refuses any assistance from him along the way that he gives up, letting her fumble over the sticks in her way and hearing her curse behind him for the next few hours.
Hours of nothing but dense forest and the humming of insects. They stuck to travelling next to their only water source, following the creek that stretches on for miles. Leo believed it had to let out somewhere.
After more tripping, more curses and endless forest, Karai grips his elbow tightly and spins him around to face her. Her face is set in determination, anger settled into her brows as she scowls at him.
"Where the hell are you leading us?"
He crosses his arms, effectively shaking her hand from his arm. "I've never been here before, Karai. How am I supposed to know?"
"We can't just wander aimlessly for hours on end!" She protests, her arm sweeping around the forest that surrounds them.
"We aren't aimless, we have an aim just... no direction."
She straightens, her features softening as her lips part in pity, "you poor son of a bitch." He glares at the term but she keeps going, taking a step closer. "You can't just expect to wander on to some paradise serenity that offers what we need. Do you really expect to find it today?"
"If we didn't have to stop every time you tripped over a log instead of letting me help you, then maybe we would have made substantial progress-"
"Oh, so now this is my fault?"
"No, but if you would stop being so stubborn-"
"Stubborn?"
"And if you would stop interrupting-"
She whips her tanto out so fast that he stumbles backwards in shock and her hand grips the front of his plastron, pushing him against the tree and coming so close that her nose brushes against his snout, her blade pressed into his throat.
"We can't make any progress if we don't have an aim." She hisses eyes set in narrow slits.
He swallows involuntarily, his skin kissing the metal at his neck, "shelter, our aim is shelter."
"We had shelter-"
"Tell me something, Karai." He starts when she lets up on the threatening stance, her elbow resting on his shoulder and giving him room to breathe. "Do you think we are alone in this dimension? Do you truly think it's just us?" He sees the cogs start to work in her head, taking in what he has said but she does not falter at all in releasing him.
Her tongue rests on her top lip as she stares at the bark behind him, truly thinking. Leo takes in a shaky breath as he watches her.
"We're not alone."
Leo begins to nod in agreement of her statement, he didn't believe they were alone for one second on this planet. Then he notices how she nervously flicks her eyes around them, dropping the blade from his throat to scan the tree line. He starts to reach out, to tell her it's fine when she backs up against him, tanto in hand and glinting murderously in the light.
Creatures, creatures he has never seen before step out from behind trees in every direction with weapons far more menacing than theirs in hand.
Second Leorai story! I am working on getting Fire, Fire finished and soon. It won't be more than 15 parts, I believe. Not entirely sure, I haven't worked out that much yet but in the meantime, while you all wait for me to wrap my head around it, here you are!
I've had this in mind since Enemy of my Enemy. I have mapped it all out, this story will be roughly 20-22 parts – still deciding on that but it's all planned out for the most part.
So enjoy this new story :)