Questions
Leo's mind drifted back into consciousness with the smell of home.
"Leonardo…" A muffled voice sounded in the darkness.
Leo ignored the voice, wanting to go back to his peaceful slumber.
"You must wake up, my son…" The voice sounded again, this time closer.
He felt himself waking up.
His eyelids slowly opened, but squeezed shut right after, because of the sudden blinding light.
He felt a gentle hand land on his forehead.
"Leonardo." A gentle voice said.
Leo recognized the voice.
It was his father's.
Leo opened his eyes once again and saw his father kneeling by his side, looking at him with worry.
"Master Splinter..?" Leo slowly got up into a sitting position.
He looked around and found himself in the dojo.
His brothers were were lying beside him, exept for one.
Donnie…
"My son, I think an explanation would be needed." Splinter said calmly.
"But shouldn't the guys be awake for this too?" Leo looked at his father.
"No, let them rest." Splinter answered, glancing at the two sleeping brothers.
"But let's not talk here." Splinter stood up and held out a hand to Leo.
Leo took the hand and got up.
He swayed on his feet a little, but Splinter was supporting him.
They walked to the living room and saw April and Casey both on the couch.
April noticed them first.
"Leo!" She ran up to him and trapped him in a hug.
"Yeah, I'm okay." He chuckled.
They all went to sit on the couch together.
"Glad you're okay, man." Casey said giving the turtle a smile.
"Thanks." Leo responds with his own smile.
"Leonardo." Splinter adressed his son.
Leo looked at his father and asked "Yes, Sensei?"
"Where's Donatello?" Splinter asked, worry was written all over his face.
Leo tensed up at the question and looked down at his lap.
He felt guilty.
It was his fault, that he didn't recognize his brother's shout over the shouts of their enemies.
He should've payed more attention.
He should've been able to open that door.
He should've—
"Leonardo." Splinter placed a paw on Leo's shoulder.
Leo looked him in the eyes, but what Splinter saw made his heart shatter.
Leo had his eyes full of tears and face full of grief.
"W-We left him, father." Leo stuttered, his voice cracking at each word.
First, Splinter had a stern look on his face, but it softened when looking at his son.
Leo's face was filling with regret.
Splinter pulled his son in a soft hug and asked with a hint of worry "Where, my son?"
He felt his robe soaking from Leo's tears.
"A-At the arena. W-We were already running to the ship, b-but they t-took him." Leo managed to answer between the quiet sobs.
"My son…" Splinter hugged Leo tighter.
It stayed like that for a while.
Everything was silent, exept for the quiet sobbing of the normally calm leader.
Splinter's ears twitched when he heard slight groaning coming from the dojo.
"Leonardo, come and help me get your brothers." He calmly said as he started to let go of his son.
They both walked to the dojo, leaving the two humans alone.
"Donnie…" April looked to the ground, her voice cracking a little.
"Aw, come on, Red… Don's strong… You know that, right?" Casey tried to comfort the redhead.
"Yeah, of course I do." April sighed.
There was a lingering silence for a few seconds.
"Do you think they left him on purpose?" April's face darkened, making it harder to see her expression.
Casey looked at April, suprised by the question.
He sighed and said "Considering Leo's face? Definitely not."
They leaned on each other's shoulder and just listened to their breathing.
They glanced at the dojo when they heard voices coming closer.
The door opened and Master Splinter and a dazed Raph came out, followed by Leo and Mikey.
They all carefully sat on the couch and Raph was the first to speak up.
"What…happened..?" He asked with a strained voice.
"We saw the ship crash, so we ran as fast as we could, but…we only found you three…" April's voice weakened at the end of the sentence.
Mikey broke into sobs when the realization came.
Raph gave his head into his hands and sighed "Donnie…" His voice cracked.
Suddenly, Leo felt like a lightbulb appeared above his head.
"Does that mean the ship isn't totally destroyed?" He looked at the two humans.
"Well, it looked pretty broken to me." Casey bluntly said.
"But it isn't 'destroyed'!" April shot Casey a glare, not wanting to break Leo's sudden hope.
"You mean we could try to fix it?" Raph asked, suddenly looking at Leo.
Leo looked at April for verification.
"If you could get through the reporters." She shrugged.
"Sensei?" Leo looked up at his father for approval.
Splinter did not want to fully approve, considering how dangerous it would be.
But seeing that hope in his son's eyes…
"We will go retrieve the ship tomorow night." He said with a slight smile.
"Splinter was not suprised when his youngest son leaped onto him and held him in a tight hug."
He gently put his hand on Mikey's head and said "We have to get ready."
Everyone exept Casey nodded and in union said "Hai, Sensei."
Casey instead shouted "Yeah!" with a determined smile.
They had a tough night to prepare for…
To be continued…