Mikey sat on the
couch, his head in his hands as he wept. His brothers sat around him
silently, stairing into space, trying to figure out how they will
continue without their beloved leader. Sure, I had had my moments in
the past... being self-centered and a complete butthole to my
brothers at times when they had done nothing. But the scar from that
battle had faded away after time, and I was now back to my old normal
self.
Today was a hard day on everyone. All of my brothers waited
fearfully for Master Splinter to come downstairs and tell them I had
passed. They didn't want to watch me die, they were afraid I would
die... so they stayed away from me and let me lie there. I felt like
I was being betrayed, but deep down I knew their actions were
probably the best thing to do. I dont think I would want to sit and
watch if Raph was lying on his death bed. ...And we had already said
our goodbyes... no one knows if I'm even going to die yet...
Master
Splinter came back into the room with some remedies. He had left for
say give minutes to get some medication for my wounds. Even if he
thought I was hopeless, he was still going to try his best to keep my
heart beating. "Close your eyes, my son, and hold your breath."
he said. I did as I was told. Tears busted out of my eyes as a needle
was inserted into my shell wound. It hurt like complete utter hell. I
couldn't even stay still, so Master Splinter ordered my brothers to
hold me down. "My sons, I have found someone to help us with
your brother. She once did us harm, but she has made a sincere
promise to help Leonardo." Master Splinter said softly. Then, a
girl in an all black form-fitting body suit walked in. I immediatly
knew who it was. It was Karai!! "NO!" I screamed. I
immediatly was struck with surprise. I thought I was to weak to
speak...? I thought. Karai walked over to my side and knelt down.
"Leonardo, I am very sorry about what happened to you." she
said to me. "Stay AWAY FROM ME!" I growled, unable to move.
I was completely helpless here, unless my brothers could fight her
off. "Leo, calm down dude. Its cool. She's on our side."
Mikey told me. "You mean like how she was on our side, and then
teamed up with Shredder and stabbed the crap out of my shoulder?"
I spat. Mikey and Don blinked, and Raph looked towards Karai. "Your
not gonna do that again, are ya?" he asked. "Of course not.
I could never fight Leonardo when he is in such condition.." she
said softly. I rolled my eyes. "Sure, whatever."
By
time it was 6:00 PM, my bleeding had decreased by a lot. Sensei told
me that this was a good sign that I may live through this. Karai
stayed by my side, stroking my shell and saying comforting words.
Around 7 pm, I was calmed down and decently consent. "Karai...?"
I asked quietly. "Yes?" she replied. "Do you promise
on your life that your on our side for good?" I muttered. "Of
course, Leo. Your hurt really bad, and I dont like that. I'm going to
help you get better..." she explained. And then... Karai did
something that surprised me greatly. Something that made a warm front
travel all through my body. It made my tail raise as far as it would
go. She kissed me.
"K-K-Karai... what.." I stuttered.
"Thats for being so kind and giving me a second chance,
Leonardo; your a sweety." Karai told me. I blushed lightly.
"Er... thanks.." I moaned. It was at that moment that Raph
walked in. "Whats goin' on?" he asked. "Nothing much,
Raphael." Karai said. I cackled under my breathe. Raph heard.
"What'er you cacklin' bout?" he asked. I blushed again.
Raph took notice of this too. "...what happened here!?" he
asked again. "Karai.. she.. well.. she kissed me." I said
tentatively. Raph's eyes grew wide and he blinked. "Woah."
he said straightly. "What happened to the Leo who hated Karai?"
he asked with a snicker. "I didnt kiss her, she kissed me."
I said with a laugh. "Whatevah." Raph said and walked over
to my side and squatted down. "Feelin any bettah?" he
asked. "Yeah... a lot better. I can move a little now and the
bleeding pretty much stopped." I said. "Want some watah?"
Raph asked. I did feel kinda dehydrated. "Sure." I said and
closed my eyes with a sleepy sigh. Karai lied down next to me. After
Raph left the room, Karai got close to my face. "Wanna know
something about me?" she asked. "..uh.. sure?" I said
with a shrug. "I've always loved you, Leo. Your a great guy. I
feel so bad about hurting you-" she said. I cut her off. "Wait
wait... you love me? As in..." I murmered. "Yes Leo. I love
you, like that. I'd like to have a relationship with you." Karai
replied. I was dumbstruck. I was speechless. I was at a complete loss
of words. I didnt know what to think. ...it was then that I realized
that... i love her to.. Maybe thats why I was so angry after that
battle, because I thought she betrayed me... but maybe she didn't.
"W-w-wow... K-Karai... I-I dont know what to say..." I
mumbled. She snickered a bit. "Hey, your a guy." I slowly
turned my head to face her, my mouth slightly agape and my eyes
gazing into hers. It was then that she reached behind my head and
untied my bandana and set it on the ground beside us, reached out,
and kissed me gently on the lips.
--
I was sleeping
quietly on my cot, Karai beside me. She was watching my every move,
including the small movement of my body as I inhaled, and exhaled.
The soft sound of my breathing filled the quiet room. Karai had her
eyes on my closed eyelids. She had commented me, after our kiss, that
I had the most marvalous brown eyes. She told me that I shouldn't
wear my bandanda, because it hides my 'beautiful eyes'.
I wasn't
used to this. Who was once my enemy and had almost killed me with my
own katana - Now loves me. Always loved me. She was too brainwashed
by Shredder to realize what she was doing to me. I forgave her. I
forgave every last bit of everything she did to me. Including when
she stabbed me through my shoulder with my katana.
Today, Sensei
wanted me to try sitting up. I was successful, but I had the most
godawful headache from where I had been lying down so long. Karai
helped me stay upwards, because the last thing we wanted was for me
to fall on my back. "I love you Leo." she told me, right
infront of my brothers, who all reacted with agape faces.
Later
that evening, we were hit by an attack from Shredder. Shocker. Sensei
and Karai helped me to climb into a metal cell and ordered me to stay
inside it quietly until I was told to exit. Karai came into the cell
with me. She held me and told me it would be okay. I was so scared
for my brothers... what if something bad happened to them? Tears
strolled down my cheek every now and then, and Karai would whip them
away with her fingers. Every time she whiped one away, she would kiss
me tenderly on the cheek. When she did this, it made me feel warm all
over. It made a feeling rush over me that I had never felt before. It
made me feel good.. and after thinking for a brief moment, I turned
her head towards me and kissed her right back on the lips.
About
an hour later, something began beating rather roughly on the steel
door, leaving dents in it. I knew who it was. "Karai... we gotta
get outta here!" I yelled. She looked at the door in complete
fear. "Theres no way out! And your to injured to protect
yourself!" she yelled. "LEO!" I heard Raph scream. At
that very moment, Shredder beat the door in and went straight for me.
Raph and Don jumped in right behind Shredder, taking wacks at the
metal outer shell of the enemy. "Karai! You and Mikey must get
Leo to safety!" Raph yelled. Karai nodded, lifting my arm up
over her shoulders and helping me up. Mikey was in front of us trying
to block Shredder from getting to me. He failed. The Shredder took
Mikey by his arm and threw him across the cell, and there was a loud
bang as he hit the metal wall and fell to the ground, out cold.
"MIKEY!" Raph screamed, enraged. He took his Sei's and
started stabbing them into the Shredder's armor. "We're done
for!" I yelled. "No, no we're not Leo!" Karai yelled.
The Shredder busted through Raph and took me in one hand, squeezing
me. My wounds began to bleed again, and my body made loud cracking
and popping noise as the Shredder crushed my body. "LEO!"
Karai screamed, and made her move. She lunged toward the Shredder, a
katana in her hand. She stabbed it through the source of the
shredder, a little pink alien blob that controled the robotic body.
The little blob screamed and wailed in pain, releasing his grip on my
body. I fell helplessly to the ground with a loud thump. Everything
went black after that. The last thing I remember is the Shredder
falling nearly ontop of Karai, and her yelling my name.
I was dying. Sensei was positive that there was nothing to do for me. I would never be able to fight again...
b- Raph's Point of View -/b
"Bro.. please wake up...
p-please..." I wept, tears streaming down my face like rivers.
My brothers stood around me, holding their tears back. I had no hope
left for my poor brother. He had been unconcious for 2 weeks now.
"L-Leo... please wake up..." I whined. I was blinded by my
tears and I couldn't control it. Everything was happening to fast...
way to fast... I couldn't take it. I came near the point of just
leaving and going somewhere else... somewhere far way... and never
returning. I just couldn't... COULDNT handle the thought of my brave,
honorable, and loyal brother, Leonardo, being gone forever. "Please
Leo... WAKE UP!!" I screamed, my head falling against Leo's
bruised and slightly cracked upper plastron, crying uncontrolably.
"Raph... dont yell..." Don whined, his hand on my shoulder.
Later that evening, I had cried myself asleep, my head still on
Leo's plastron. I awoke slowly with a yawn, raising my head up. I
blinked once, looked towards Leo, and was dumbstruck. I couldn't
believe it! He was awake, looking at me, and smiling! I glanced at my
brothers, and they all gave me a smile as well. "Leo, your
awake!" I cried, standing up. "Y-yeah..." Leo said
quietly. I wasn't thinking about anything but the simple fact that my
brother was finally awake from a 2 week coma.
b- Leo's Point of View -/b
"Thanks Bro... for
being by my side that whole time..." I grunted, so weak from
blood loss that my vision on my brothers was unsteady. I couldn't
move a single muscle in my body. My body was broken; not only
physically, but mentally. That last fight... when Karai tried to
protect me... it finally left a big, huge crack right through all my
hopes. And then I realized... Karai wasn't here.
"W...w..where's
k-Karai..." I asked through my torn and scratchy vocals. "she
was here earlier... she left a few hours ago. I dunno why."
Mikey told me. I closed my eyes and sighed deeply. Before, I was
getting mad at my brothers for having no hope in me. But for the
first time in my entire life, I had lost hope. I had lost hope in
myself. Sensei had always taught me lessons about hope. That no
matter what, theres always hope, and one should never give up. I
hated the thought that I was disobeying my master's lesson. I
absolutely hated it. "Leo!" a female voice yelled from
behind my brothers. They moved to the side and Karai appeared with a
basket. I struggled painfully to smile, my eyes half open. "I
brought you some medicines for both your wounds and your
depression..." she said. I said nothing. I was in to much pain.
Karai had numbed all of my wounds before she began rubbing some
kind of antispetic on them. I felt no pain, which made me more
content. My shell wounds had healed, however, it would never grow
back. Sensei filled in the hole with a metal filling. Raph sat by me
and watched, glad that the treatment was causing me no pain. "Leo!"
yelled to voices outside the room. April and Casey walked in and over
to my side. "Oh my god Leo... you poor thing!" April
whined, placing her hand on my shoulder gently. "A-april.."
I muttered, my eyes slowly closing. All of a sudden, Sensei ran into
the room. "MY SONS! We must flee, NOW!" he yelled. All of
my brothers said 'why' in unison. "The Shredder is returning to
finish battle! He has declared that he will destroy Leonardo first!
We MUST get him to safety IMMEDIATLY!" Sensei yelled. At an
instant, Raph, April, Casey, and Don picked me up and started towards
the door. "Where can we go!?" Casey yelled in a panic.
"Follow me!" Sensei yelled and proceeded out the door. We
followed him down the stairs and into another cell that was deep
within the lair. "April, Karai, Casey: You stay in here with
Leonardo in case of an attack." Sensei ordered, and the three
did as they were told. Casey shut the metal door and locked it
securely. I sighed as I lay limp on the ground against the wall.
Karai stayed by my side, our hands locked with eachother. I was
fearless. At this point, I really barely cared if I was murdered
right here, right now. I wanted to die. I was suffering. I was
dying.
"Leo.. are you okay?" Karai asked, rubbing my
arm. I simply sighed and closed my eyes. I couldn't say anything. I
didn't know what to say. Karai frowned and kissed my hand gently.
"Its gonna be alright, man." Casey said, staying by the
door. A few seconds later, there was a loud bang against the door.
When I looked up, it was dented. 'What a shocker.' I thought
sarcastically. Karai and April stood up in front of me, standing in
fighting stance, ready to protect me. Unsurprisingly, Shredder
bounded through the door and went straight in my direction. Casey
threw wacks at the metal contraption, and Karai and April did as
well. I just lay there, uncaring of what happened to me. I just
didn't care anymore.
Raph hopped into the cell, throwing his seis
and his body at the metal. Karai hovered over top of me, eyeing the
Shredder with a fierce look. "I am VERY disappointed in you,
Karai!!" the Shredder growled. "You have betrayed me,
AGAIN, you disloyal fiend!" he added. Karai simply grunted,
pulled one of her katanas from her backcase and threw it at the
Shredder's chest. "DIE!" she screamed. The Shredder
shrieked loudly, falling backwards. Raph and DOn leaped to the side
to avoid being fallen upon. "Leo!" Raph yelled, bounding
around the falling metal, to my side. "Are you okay??" he
asked in a panic. "I'm fine Raph." I said. "Run, save
yourself!" I added. "No! I won't leave and let you get
killed!" Raph growled, doing a backflip and kicking the Shredder
in the neck as he returned upright. "Karai, take Leo to safety
NOW! Before Shredder awakens!" Don yelled. Karai lifted me up,
Raph leaping over to assist. They carried me out of the cell and, as
fast as they could, tried to find another hiding place. But it was to
late. There was the sound of Don being thrown against the outside
wall, and then the sound of Shredder coming back for us. He had one
of Karai's katanas, and with it, he threw it toward me. A gross sound
filled the suddenly quiet room, following by a pain-filled series of
grunts from my vocals. The sword had went completely through my
shoulder. I fell to my knees, and then onto my front with a loud
groan. "NO!!" Raph and Karai screamed in unison. Don looked
up, his eyes becoming wide when he saw the sword sticking straight up
in the air from my body. "NO!!" he screamed, sprinting to
my body. But the Shredder wasn't finished. He grabbed Don by his belt
and threw him into the air, chucking him toward the ceiling. Raph
pulled the katana out of my flesh and winced at the blood that now
covered it. "Leo..." he whined. The Shredder ran up behind
Karai, taking her other katana and chucking it at Raph. He dodged it,
the blade skimming across his cheek. He wasn't done with this fight.
He grabbed his sei's and jumped toward's Shredder, but the monster
grabbed his wrist and threw him down to the ground with a loud
'thump'. Raph groaned irratably. The Shredder then took his arm, and
twisted it all the way around. A loud cracking noise filled the room.
Raph screamed in agony. "Raph! Leo!" Don yelled, taking his
turn. He ran towards the Shredder, jumping into the air into a full.
He smacked the Shredder across the face with his foot, causing the
monster to fall backwards. He picked up the bloody katana that lied
on the ground, held it above his head, and stabbed it into the pink
alien blob that gave the shredder life. A loud scream, and then
silence. The battle was over... for now.
I lied unconcious, a
pool of blood surrounding me. When Karai came over to me, she was
panicked by the fact that I was no longer bleeding. "Leo...
NO!!" she screamed. Raph slowly rose, his left arm fractured to
pieces from the shoulder and down. He groaned painfully, getting to
his feet and limping over to my body. "He's finished." Raph
whined, tears blinding his eyes. "No.. not yet." Karai
said. "Get his body. We must carry him back to the infirmiry."
she added. Raph nodded and picked up my body, and carried me up the
stairs and to the infirmiry.
"Lie him down on the bed."
Karai ordered. Raph eyerolled and did as he was told. "How'er we
gonna save 'em?" he said. "CPR. You press his chest, I'll
breathe for him." Karai replied. "Good plan. I ain't kissin
'em." Raph said with a tone of voice. He pressed against my
chest three times before Karai's lips met mine, breathing into my
mouth. I awoke almost instantly, coughing up blood and holding my
middle painfully. "Your alive!" Raph yelled in joy. "How'er
we gonna get you back to health... if Shreddah keeps attackin' you'll
be dead in just a few hours." Raph said. "We're gonna have
to travel somewhere, somewhere far away and keep Leo behind guard."
Karai said. "Good idea." Raph agreed. Master Splinter
limped into the room, holding his right arm and groaning. "Sensei!
We're gonna have to take Leo somewheh' else, somewhe' fah' away wheh'
Shreddah' can't get ta' him." Raph said. "I am agreed. Leo
will not survive in this place. We must travel, and we must leave
immediatly." Sensei said. Don and Mikey hobbled into the room
behind Sensei, their arms around eachother's shoulders. "Come
Donatello, Michaelangelo, we must flee immediatly to a safer and far
away haven. Leo will not survive here." Sensei said. I groaned.
I felt like I was getting in the way of everything and causing us
trouble. "N-no.. g-guys.. you-you d-dont... h-have t-to... d-do
any-anything.. for-for m-me..." I struggled with all my will to
say. Raph sighed in worry. "Leo, bro, your dying and we must get
you somewhere safe. If your attacked again, you'll be dead in
seconds." Don said. Raph nodded. "Yeh. We need'ta get ya
fah' away from he'ah." he said. I groaned in pain. "I-I...
d-dont t-think... I-I'm g-gonna s-surv-survive... m-much..
l-l-longer..." I said painfully. "Leo, don't hurt yourself.
Just.. don't talk.. please.." April whined, trying to make her
words not sound rude. I did as I was told. Raph and Don picked me up
and carried me to April's car. We all took off, unknowing of where we
were going, and uncaring. Just as long as we got somewhere safe
quickly. "Do ya think Shredder and his commrads will be able to
track us?" Raph asked. "I do not know, Raphael. We're
absconding... I would hope he dosn't." Sensei said. "He's
getting worse, we gotta hurry!" Mikey said in a panicked tone.
"I think he's gonna pass out!" Don cried. April picked up
the speed. Raph whined quietly. He was really scared. I could tell by
the way his eyes looked when he looked at me... the way his
expression was. It was full of fear, and I hated seeing my brother
like this. I wished I could just get better. I tried to get up,
grunting as I did so. Raph gently pushed me back down. "Take it
easy, Leo. Just lie still." Don said softly. Casey turned around
to look at me, as he hadn't really gotten a good look at me yet. His
eyes became wide and his mouth went agape. "Oh my GOD. Leo...
wow!" he said. I sighed and closed my eyes. "Casey..
please." Don said straightly. "Oh, sorry." Casey said,
and turned around. "Well.. the good thing is that his bleeding
is stopping." Mikey said. "Good." Raph said with a
sigh of relief. We took a sharp turn around a corner, and I almost
rolled off the seat, but Raph and Don pulled me back. I moaned
quietly as breathing became harder. We made a stop in an alley,
beside an abandoned building.
Raph broke a low window and we went
inside. There were old, rotten boxes everywhere; and also rotting
wood lay around all over the place. "Watch ya step guys."
Raph said as he began to walk onward. He found a stable, large piece
of wood. "If we can find something soft like a blanket to put
ovah this, we can use it fah' Leo tah' lie on when we have'ta carry
him around." Raph said. Everyone nodded. "Oh Leo..."
April said softly, placing her hand gently on my forehead. Don and
Mikey had carried me inside, April and Karai walking along side them.
Mikey set me down on the floor, making sure I wasn't going to be on
any pieces of wood of debrie. "Poor thing." Karai said. I
looked up at her with my eyes, as I couldn't move my neck. She had
this strange look on her face... an expression that made me have a
bad feeling that something not so good was about to happen. She
looked worried.. and scared. And almost as if she was waiting...
expecting, something to happen. She sat down beside me, taking off
her backcase and removing her katanas. She lied down and set her head
on my plastron. I listened intently as Don, Mikey and Raph scoped the
building out for any potential danger.
A few hours later, I had fallen asleep. Karai had stayed awake, to scared to sleep. Raph, Mikey, and Don came back with thick scraps of clothing they had found in a box. "Maybe this is enough to make a padding on the board we found." Don said. "Maybe, lets try it." Raph said. The three began to cover the wooden board with the scraps.
--
I awoke a few
hours later. I was lying on a board that had been covered with
clothe. I grunted a bit as my eyes worked their way open, and my
brothers took notice. "He's.. he's awake!" Raph yelled. He
sounded happier than I had ever heard him. "...R-Raph..." I
moaned. "Its okay bro, I'm here. I'm here.." Raph said, his
voice gentle and soft, his hand on my shoulder. "You don't have
to say anything, bro." Don said, his eyes on my broken shell.
"What'er we gonna do 'bout that?" Raph asked. "About
what?" Don asked. "Like you 'dun know! His shell, ya
idiot!" Raph growled. He was tense right now, angry at no one..
but yet at everything. "Calm down, dude." Mikey said
straightly. He was trying to act careless and unworrying, but I could
see it in his eyes.. he was scared as hell. Raph bowed his head and
sighed long and sad. I frowned and closed my eyes again. "We
have to get him to a hospital guys.. or else he wont make it."
Don said. "Yeh, like we can take a 180 pound talkin' turtle to
the hospital." Raph said, whiping away the tears. "Know any
vets who'll keep their mouth shut?" Mikey asked. Raph eyed him.
"'Dis is no time for ya to act like yo'self!" he growled.
Mikey frowned. Don shook his head and knelt beside me. "What are
we gonna do?" he asked, looking over my wounds. "If we
don't get professional help, we will probably have to say goodbye to
a brother!" Don said in a panicked tone.
Karai listened
silently, her head against my plastron and her arms around my middle,
and on my chest. She cried silently, breathed silently, everything
she did was silent and went un-noticed. I was awake, but this was
unknown to everyone, even Karai. My eyes were closed, my breathing
somewhat shallow and even, as if I was sleeping. While I lay there,
so many things ran through my mind. How will I ever help my brothers
again? Will I see my next birthday? Will I see tomorrow? Will I ever
practice ninjitsu again? Will I ever be able to love someone..
My
eyes shot open. My amber hues stared in a trance-like state at the
ceiling 70 feet above. I wanted so bad to just jump up, to slash my
katanas through the free air and yell with joy; to run on the
rooftops and kick Foot Ninja ass with my brothers.
I was sure
that none of those things would ever happen again.
I groaned
quietly, my hand sliding overtop of Karai's. My brothers watched in
awe as I "awoke". "I think 'ee passed out 'er
somethin'. His breathin' was awfully shallow'." Raph said,
crossing his arms. "Yeah.. I agree." Don said, and placed
his hand on my forehead. It was then that he noticed how pale I was.
"Guys.." he said. "Huh?" Mikey said, turning
around on the box he was perched on. "I dont think he's going to
make it.." Don whined. This enraged Raph.. with an
uncontrollable anger that could easily place him into a dog-eat-dog
situation. He eyes flared, and narrowed toward Don. "You
uncaring piece of-!!" he screamed, his fist raising into the
air. "HOW DARE YOU EVEN INSTICATE THAT LEO WON'T SURVIVE!!"
he yelled, throwing his fist toward Don. Mikey took ahold of him and
pushed him backward. "What the shell are you doing!?" he
yelled. Raph inhaled violently, his eyes almost teary he was so mad.
I just closed my eyes once again, and sighed. "Great. B-because
of me.. y-you guys are g-growing apart.." I strained to say. Don
looked back toward me. "No, no bro.. thats not true." he
said softly. "We're not growing apart.. we're just having a hard
time dealing with all thats happening in such a short amount of time,
and its causing a rather large amount of stress." Don explained,
keeping his hand on my forehead. "Don't blame yourself, bro."
Mikey popped into the conversation. "Its not anyone fault except
the Shredder's." he added with a cold laugh. I sighed and opened
my eyes again. "But really, Raph, you should've let me finish my
sentance. I said I didnt think Leo was going to make it, and with
good reason. Look at him... he's lost so much blood his skin is
almost white, like a humans." Don said informatively. "I
didn't mean to piss you off like that." he added quietly. Raph
growled a bit and got back to his feet. "Whatevah." he said
and jumped onto a box, perching quietly at the edge of the building.
Night killed the sun as a dark sheet covered the outside. We had
no more than a lantern to keep the area we were in illuminated. Don
bowed his head in saddness as his eyes fell back upon my body, Karai
lying dead-like halfway ontop of me. "What are we gonna do.."
Mikey whined, jumping off his box and crawling over beside Don. I
hated being the center of attention, the one everyone was spiritually
suffering for. I wanted it to end, now. I sighed long and cold,
irritation evident in my face. "Don't get mad, Leo. That won't
help a thing." Raph mumbled. I sighed once again, and closed my
eyes, hoping to get in some sleep.
And then it hit me, I got a
feeling. A strong feeling. So strong, I could barely stand it. I was
going to be able to walk again in the morning, I just knew it. I was
going to begin a real recovery; I was going to take the first step on
the path that led back to being a Mutant Ninja Turtle.
