I hadn't ever found a moment in my life where I needed to be serious.
My brothers were always being serious for me, especially Leo.
He was serious enough for all of us all the time. He was always being the responsible one so that I was free to be me, and to do whatever I wanted to do.
But in that moment, Leo couldn't be serious. He was too busy trying to stay alive.
He kept waking up and falling asleep again, mumbling words and stuff that I couldn't really understand.
Donnie was yelling all of these instructions to me and expecting me to know how to follow them.
Raph was in the front completely silent driving crazy fast to get us home in time.
And I didn't have a clue as to what I was supposed to do.
I wasn't ever serious, so how was I supposed to know how to save Leo's life?
***Post-Booyakashowdown, Pre-Follow the Leader.
Michelangelo's P.O.V.
It was probably the scariest moment of my entire life; even scarier than when those squirrelanoids had me and were dragging me down into the dark water.
Maybe it would have been better if those crazy monsters had killed me then.
Karai was standing over Donnie, Raph and I, holding a sword over us.
I was so scared; we all were, but I think I was the most scared.
Near death experiences are not easy to get over, and if anyone ever says they are, they are a liar.
I was still super freaked out by how I almost drowned back in the sewers a few days before, so I could never understand how Leo dealt with the times he almost died. Like when he fell off of that super tall secret Kraang building, TCRI…or like he stayed behind on the giant floating shippy ship the Kraang had brought here right before the big purple explosion.
I'd never understand how my brother could be so fearless, even though he hated when Raph ever called him that.
So there I was, about to get cut up by Karai. I really hate that woman…
But in that moment, I couldn't look at her. I had to look at anything but her. I didn't want to know when it was coming. I just didn't want it to hurt too bad…
That was how my eyes found Leo, running towards us with one of his swords.
And man did he look angry.
No, I mean really really really angry. So angry, it was almost as scary as Karai's sword that about to hurt us. He looked like he was mad enough to kill her, and Leo is not a killer. Leo is the "we should avoid fighting if we can" kinda guy.
I don't know how to explain it, he just likes to see the best in people. But judging from his eyes, he couldn't find the best in Karai anymore.
He was really gonna kill her…
Or at least he was, until an arrow hit his sword and sent it flying out of his hands.
No.
I didn't want to believe it, but I knew it was true. Master Splinter was the only one who could have shot that arrow. He was the one who brought the arrows, but he wouldn't do that. No, he wouldn't have stopped Leo who was gonna save us…
I looked over refusing to believe that my dad would have ever done such a thing, but sure enough, I was right. I hated when I was right.
When Leo's sword hit the ground, he stopped running towards us, looking over at Splinter in shock.
Karai turned around and realized Leo had been coming for her, and I think she muttered a bad word.
But she didn't wanna waste any more time.
She turned back to face us and raised her sword again. This time, I couldn't not look at the sword. I was too afraid to look away.
I felt Raph pull me closer to him as I realized this was it for us.
That was when I saw the color blue.
Leo was flying in front of the three of us, sideways. He jumped in the way to block Karai's sword.
Awesome timing, Leo!
But as my eyes connected with his, I realized he didn't have any way of actually blocking that sword. His eyes reflected the same amount of fear that I had.
There are certain moments in your life when you remember the exact details of a situation. Donnie told me it's due to this stuff called adrena—adrenalion…? …Something like that. It just makes you more hyperaware. My adrena-whatever definitely locked those moments in my brain.
I heard Leo gasp as I watched Karai's sword hit him in between the front of his shell and the back of his shell. Right where his shoulder was.
He never screamed. He never made a noise other than that gasp. He sucked in a huge gulp of air and hit the ground a few feet away from us without another sound.
Oh. My. God.
It felt like time was frozen. I waited for Leo to move. I waited for him to get up.
None of us moved. Not even Karai. We all remained completely still as we watched Leo. He started shaking like crazy on the ground, and this weird red liquid stuff started surrounding him.
Oh man…that was blood, and there was a lot of it…
"Consider that a warning, freaks…" Karai finally spoke.
I briefly looked up at her. She didn't take her eyes of Leo's shaking body.
"You—you guys are next," she spoke again, but definitely seemed like she was freaked out by what she did.
I don't care how tough she comes off as, she definitely was afraid of what she had done.
She didn't stay for very long, either. Right after she finished talking, she ran off, and her and her Foot ninjas disappeared.
Raph was the first of us to react, we were all stunned by what had happened. Donnie and I followed behind on our hands and knees as we crawled towards Leo.
I did everything I could to avoid that blood that was all over the place. How could a person have so much blood in their body?! It was freaking me out!
Years ago, there was this one time I had snuck in Raph's room and found his comic book stash. Raph and I both liked comics, but we liked really different types of comics. I liked super hero comics, and he liked scary and violent comics. He had always told me I wouldn't have liked to see his, and never actually let me try to read them. I decided I was tired of being treated like a kid, and went in his room and read as many of those comics as I could.
He was right, they were so much different than my own. I hated them, they scared me. There was so much blood and gore in his comics, and I put them down. It took me weeks to be able to sleep in my own room again. Leo just let me camp out in his room with him after I told him what I did. He told me I could stay with him as long as I needed to.
I hated Raph's comics. And I vowed I would never see something like that ever again.
Seeing it in a comic, and seeing it in real life…there isn't a way to describe it.
I stayed the farthest away from Leo's body, too afraid to get too close to all that blood…
Donnie and Raph were a lot more intent than me. Donnie went into his doctor mode that he gets into when one of us gets hurt.
He and Raph gently flipped Leo over so Donnie could look over his more.
I had never regretted a single slice of pizza in my life, but when I saw Leo, I realized I never should have eaten half of a pizza before we left the lair.
I had to fight with everything in me not to hurl…
Leo was breathing so heavily, looking everywhere at once. His eyes would seriously not stay on one thing.
He was shaking and had blood all over the front of him, even a little bit coming out of his mouth.
It was the single more grossest thing I'd ever seen, and I couldn't hold back my tears.
"LEO!" Raph was the first of any of us to speak.
He clenched his fists together tightly and kept his eyes locked on Leo's.
"LEO, NO!" I couldn't not scream after Raph's outburst.
I was begging him to stop bleeding, to not die. I was so scared that Leo was going to close his eyes forever in that exact second, and that was not something I could handle.
"LEO, STAY WITH US," Donnie's cry was more of an order than an actual sad cry.
Donnie was definitely doing his doctor thing. Raph and I watched as he unwrapped his wrists and pressed down directly on Leo's shoulder.
I watched as Leo's eyes almost popped out of his head.
He snapped his eyes shut. He was in so much pain, and he was fighting it with everything he had.
And then he wasn't shaking anymore. He was still.
I think my heart skipped a beat.
"We have to get him back home now," Donnie whispered.
Leo still wasn't moving. Was he…
No. No, he couldn't be. Not my big brother. Not here, not now…
Please…
It was like Leo had mind reading powers and heard my thoughts, because he spazzed out a second later.
"We have to get him in the Shallraiser immediately," Donnie said, looking over towards our ride.
I looked in horror as I realized that Donnie's cloth that he was holding on Leo had changed from white to completely red.
"I'll carry him by the shoulders," Raph spoke directly to me.
I think he knew that Leo's blood was seriously creeping me out.
All three of us readied ourselves to take on Leo's weight, Raph at the shoulders and Donnie and I each took a leg.
And I looked over to see that Master Splinter was gone.
Where the heck could he have went?
I didn't have any time to think of anything, because Donnie and Raph hoisted Leo up, and I jumped up with them.
Leo groaned as we moved him, and I tried to be gentle. I didn't know what else I could do…
Donnie rushed us all into the Shellraiser. Where were we supposed to put Leo? On the ground?
Donnie lowered Leo's left leg and tried to stand him up. Raph nodded at me without saying anything. I think he meant I could let Leo's leg go and let him lean on Raph.
Leo was awake again, looking directly at the floor like he was gonna be sick..or pass out again.
I turned away from him. He was getting a lot more pale and he was still shaking and breathing heavily. It was getting harder and harder to see him like that.
Donnie was at my spot in the Shellraiser, reaching his hands to the top of my map. He grasped the top and pulled down, revealing a bed.
If Leo wasn't in serious trouble, I would have told Donnie that was the coolest thing ever. He had his hundreds of little secret things like that in the Shellraiser, and any time we got to see one, it amazed me.
I was suddenly pushed to the side as Raph helped Leo lay down, while Donnie pulled out his cool medicine box that I wasn't allowed to touch.
No one was saying anything. Raph jumped in Leo's driver seat and Donnie pulled out a shot thingy.
I felt so useless, letting everyone have something to do when I was just standing there.
We were suddenly moving. Raph started the engine and wasted no time in slamming his foot on the gas pedal.
He was so serious about getting us home in time…and every time Leo made a noise, he only drove faster.
We were on the complete other side of the city from the lair, and I was terrified that only three of us would make it home.
"Mikey," Donnie called to me.
"Y—yeah, Donnie?" I tried to speak.
I looked over at him to see that Leo was out cold again. How many more times would he wake up, though…?
"I need you, come here," Donnie instructed, trying to get his shot needle into a jar of clear water stuff. "Hold him down."
I jumped to his side, ready to help Leo in any way that I could, even if it meant getting his blood on me at this point.
Up until then, I had been pretty useless. I bet Donnie and Raph could have carried him without me. I couldn't have helped Leo in any way, so I was definitely set on holding him down.
Still, that determination faded when I actually did get close to the blood again…
Donnie was clearly struggling to fill that shot thingy with whatever that medicine stuff was. Raph's frantic driving had the whole Shellraiser shaking.
Donnie had been the most calm out of us since Leo got hurt, but every time he missed getting that needle in, this crazy wildness was growing in his eyes.
"Mmmm…" Leo's eyes fluttered open while his head shook uncontrollably as the Shellraiser rocked back and fourth.
"Raph, I need you to keep the Shellraiser steady!" Donnie suddenly started shouting. "Mikey, hold him down please!"
I told my hands to go down, I really did. I promise I did, but my body just wouldn't listen to me. I was so scared to touch Leo— no, to touch his blood.
It was weird, how the blood actually became so important to me. Maybe it was because I had never seen such a massive amount in my life?
"I'm trying, Donnie," I cried, terrified that I couldn't make myself do it. "But there's so much blood here…I don't want to touch it!"
"Well get the hell over it!" he screamed at me. "Raph can't do it because he's driving!"
I felt like I couldn't breathe. Oh wait, I wasn't breathing…I sucked in a huge gulp of air and continued to fight against my brother.
"Let me drive then Raph can come do this!"
"Mikey, damn it, hold Leo down!" Donnie roared as he tried to get the stupid needle in to his jar again.
I panicked. Donnie never yelled at me like that before. It made me all the more scared to touch Leo.
We hit a sharp turn and I grabbed onto Leo's table bed thing for balance before I fell. His head turned towards me and his eyes met with mine.
I've seen this type of thing happen in comic books, when the hero has a scary serious moment with the person who needs him to rise up.
That was Leo and me. Leo had always been the hero for me, saving my shell when I needed him, no matter what it meant. Even if it meant facing a giant Kraang robot monster in a sinking alien ship, or taking a sword to the chest so I wouldn't have to…
Leo needed me to get over my fear to help him.
To save him…
"MICHELANGELO," Donnie's next scream broke through to me. "He's going to die if you don't help me!"
Donnie finally got his needle into the jar correctly and filled the shot thingy with the water stuff.
Leo's eyes started to droop, and I didn't give it another thought. My hands shot down on him, holding him as still as I could with Raph's crazy driving.
His body was like ice. It was so cold, and Leo couldn't stop shaking. I swear I could feel his heart beating in his chest with every breath he took.
And I could feel a cold, sticky slimy liquid covering my hands.
For Leo, for Leo, for Leo… I chanted over and over again in my head.
"Leo, can you hear me?" Donnie asked from beside me.
I looked over at him, flicking his needle with his fingers.
"Where…where is Sensei…?" Leo mumbled with his eyes completely closed again.
All of us tensed, because none of us knew the answer.
"…I'm—I'm gonna make the pain go away, Leo," Donnie was speaking directly to him, using his free hand to draw an invisible target near Leo's wound. "Mikey, keep him as still as you can, and move your hands to here."
He pointed to the location and I followed his instructions.
"What is that, Donnie?" I asked him as I watched him raise the shot.
"A syringe, Mikey," he told me.
"No, I mean what's that stuff inside of it?" I tried again.
He was holding the syrin—syringe thingy in a way I'd never seen a person hold a shot before. He had his whole fist wrapped around it while he used his other hand to help me hold Leo down.
Donnie took a deep breath.
"It's morphine and anesthesia," he whispered.
I watched as Donnie stabbed Leo with the shot super close to where Karai had stabbed him.
Oh. My. God.
Leo's eyes shot open as the needle entered his body. He gasped and tensed under my hands.
I almost threw up. I jumped back and released my hold on him, tripping and landing on my butt. Instinctually, my hands flew to cover my mouth, but I stopped them. They were covered in blood…
Now I was shaking uncontrollably. It was so gross and so scary, and why did Donnie just stab Leo?!
I hesitantly looked up to see Leo relax more and more as Donnie pushed the end of the shot down, and all that morphine stuff went into Leo's body. His breathing even slowed down a lot, and he stopped shaking.
After a few seconds, he looked like he was sleeping again.
"That should keep him under for a while…" Donnie began talking to himself.
"Wh—wh—"I tried to question Donnie, but I was so freaked out and I couldn't stop stuttering.
"That's how you inject morphine, Mikey," he answered. "The anesthesia will keep him asleep and slow his heart rate down. That should slow the pumping of his blood and could very well be the only thing that can save him at this point."
I just sat there on the floor watching Donnie throw his needle…shot…syringe thingy back into his box and grab more stuff out of it. He began wrapping Leo up in some stuff that looked like mummy wrap.
"Thank you," he muttered to me, totally focused on wrapping Leo around his cut.
He tossed me a small package over his shoulder without even turning. I fumbled for it, reading the words on the plastic.
Sanitary wipes.
Donnie was always prepared.
I ripped open that plastic wrapper and grabbed the damp towels out of it. I was so eager to get that blood off of me…I wiped down my hands and fingers a bunch of times.
Even after I was done, I still felt super uncomfortable.
Donnie threw me two more packs without a word. It was like he just…understood. And I was more than super thankful for him in those moments.
If anyone could save Leo, it was Donnie. And I put all of my trust in him to do it.
After I went through three packets and got all of the blood off of me, I felt like I could breathe again, though I was still pretty shaken up… I couldn't take my eyes off of my hands. They were clean now, but I still felt like they were covered in blood.
"How's he lookin'?" Raph spoke in a hard voice from the driver's seat.
"Not good," Donnie replied emotionless. "He's lost way too much blood already, we need to get him home fast so I can close this gash."
Raph seemed to pause before he actually said anything again.
"How fast?" was all he could say.
"Like, five minutes ago fast," Donnie spoke really low.
I looked up to Leo's face. He was still sleeping, and his face looked a lot more peaceful. He wasn't grimacing in pain anymore. But I knew he was still in danger. If Donnie was as worried as he seemed, we were in serious trouble.
"SHIT!" Raph exploded from the front seat, slamming on the breaks.
I slid across ground and Donnie grabbed onto the table like I had done earlier to keep himself up. He also grabbed Leo and held him in place as the Shellraiser came to a complete stop.
I slammed into the back of Raph's chair and landed upside down. I looked over and Donnie who was pulling Leo back onto the middle of the table.
"Raph, we don't have time to stop like this!" Donnie screamed from the back.
"Tell that to him," Raph spit his words like acid.
There was so much anger in Raph's voice when he spoke. He was unbuckling his seatbelt and standing up. His hand lifted me up and flipped me over so I was back on my feet too.
"What's the damn problem?!" Donnie exploded running up to us. "Leo can't make it if we—"
"Look," Raph pointed to the monitor.
The first thing I noticed was the street signs. We were already more than halfway home. I wanted to commend Raph for his crazy driving skills.
The second thing I saw, there was a black car parked sideways in the middle of the road, blocking us from going any farther.
Seriously? That was the big emergency? A stupid little car?
"Raphael, we do not have time to stop for one car, push the stupid thing out of the way," Donnie complained turning back to walk to Leo.
The car's back door opened.
And the Shredder stepped out.
Oh. My. God.
I didn't think the night could get any worse. I was wrong. I hated when I was wrong.
"What do we do?" I asked, eyeing Leo who was still unconscious.
God did we need him in that moment… We had only faced the Shredder twice in our entire lives, and both times, he totally kicked our shells and then some…and that was when there was four of us! Now there was only Donnie, Raph and I…we didn't stand a chance.
"We take him out," Raph spoke with no emotion. "For Leo."
I gulped.
"We have to be quick," Donnie said. "Leo doesn't have that much time."
"Donnie, I know we're running out of time!" Raph suddenly shouted. "I know Leo is…is…Look, we have to beat this guy. It was his plan to hurt Leo, Karai was not the one who came up with that. I know she didn't. We have to kick his ass for Leo, and to save Leo."
Raph was always the most emotional of us. We all knew that, no matter how much he tried to hide it. But there were times I caught him speaking to Spike in his room late at night, complaining about either why we annoyed him, or why he was thankful to have us. …But more of the annoying part.
Heh, Doctor Prankenstein always got the job done…
Raph was right, though. Both times we met the Shredhead (which is totally a better name for the Shredder, I wish it could have been up to me to name him) months ago, we were totally unprepared. Now we had months of training and something to fight for: our brother's life.
Donnie and I nodded, we both knew Raph was right.
They lead the way outside of the Shellraiser and I looked back at Leo one more time.
"We're gonna get you home bro, just hang in there a little longer," I begged.
He didn't respond in anyway, and I tried to ignore that fact. It was like he was already dead… The only reason I knew he wasn't was because I could see his chest going up and down.
I shook the thoughts from my head as I took my place next to my brothers to face the Shredder. This was it.
"I see one of you turtles is missing," the Shredder commented. "But I'm assuming that's him all over you, Donatello and Raphael."
I looked over and noticed Donnie had blood all over him. He didn't clean himself off like I did. Raph's hands were also covered from when he had lifted Leo earlier. I shivered.
Raph growled right next to me, and I saw him grip his Sais super tightly.
"He is still alive, isn't he?" the Shredder kept taunting us, even I knew that's what he was doing. "I know he is suffering, Karai said there was no way he would survive her attack."
With his words, I felt tears in my eyes again…
"SHUT UP!" Raph screamed.
"I will offer you three a deal," he kept speaking. "Tell me where Hamato Yoshi is and I will spare you three. I may even offer you a chance to use your skills in the name of the Foot Clan."
"NO WAY!" Raph instantly denied the offer. "WE'D NEVER TEAM UP WITH THE LIKES OF YOU! WE'RE HERE TO FINISH THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL, SHREDDER!"
"Raph, keep calm," Donnie whispered to us. "He's trying to get in our heads, don't let him."
"Too late for that, Donnie," I muttered.
Raph was at his tipping point. It was obvious in the way he was yelling. It wasn't going to take much more to crack him…
"Don't be fools like your Master," Shredder continued his annoying rant. "Join me, and spare yourselves the same fate as Leonardo."
"Leonardo."
That was it, Raph snapped.
He charged directly at the Shredder, practically exploding with anger.
I think even the Shredder was surprised at how much force Raph used when he jumped at him. He barely had time to block Raph's Sais with his slasher thingies…
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY HIS FUCKING NAME!" Raph roared.
Raph jumped back when he realized he didn't hit, and sprang forward again, but Shredder was more prepared that time. He kicked Raph towards us, and I caught him before he could crash into the Shellraiser.
Raph stood back up growling.
"Raph, enough!" Donnie scolded him. "We need a better plan if we're going to take him down."
"Fools," Shredder barked. "For refusing my generous offer, now you shall perish like your brother!"
"We don't have time for a plan," Raph said. "Hit him fast, hit him hard, and take him down."
"Let's go from different angles," I offered, grabbing my nunchakus from my belt and popping my kusarigama blade out.
"Agreed," Donnie said, drawing his Bo staff from his back.
"GO!" Raph screamed, leading us.
I took the left and Donnie too the right. There was no way Shredhead could have stopped us all at once!
But he didn't actually have to.
None of us considered the fact that we all had different speeds. Probably a mistake Leo wouldn't have made…
I got to him first, and he stepped away, dodging my kusarigama. He swept his leg and tripped me up. I hit the ground with a thud.
To avoid Donnie, he simply jumped back and landed on top of his car. Donnie couldn't stop in time and tripped over me as I tried to avoid him. He landed on top of me and I had the wind knocked out of me.
As Donnie got off of me and I tried to steady my breathing, I watched as Raph stabbed at the Shredder countless times, and Shredder dodged the Sais like he was playing a video game on easy…super easy.
There was one point when Raph's Sai went right past his head, and the Shredder grabbed Raph's arm and flipped him over his shoulder.
Raph hit the ground hard, pinned down by the Shredder. Shredhead raised his gauntlet up, and I held my breath.
Raph was ready, though. He rolled himself from under Shredder towards us just as Shredder stabbed the ground. We all got back onto our feet.
"We're better than the last time you faced us, Shredder," Raph mocked him. "We aren't amateurs anymore."
"So I can see," he laughed evilly, standing back up. "After all, that's how my daughter's blade ended up in your brother, correct?"
He crouched again, ready for us to attack, and we responded in the same way. Were we gonna repeat the same attack, though?
Shredder answered that for me when he jumped directly at us, his leg extended. We all jumped out of the way, but he wheeled around as soon as he landed and kicked Donnie.
Donnie crashed into the car and landed on the ground shaking his head.
"Donnie!" I cried, slamming into the Shredder and tackling him.
We both rolled on the ground, but he recovered first, and he grabbed me by the belt. He threw me directly at Raph, who wasn't expecting it and we both tumbled.
"Mikey, MOVE!" Raph ordered, pushing me out of the way as the Shredder tried to take us out.
We might have gotten better, but so had Shredhead. It was crazy how much stronger he had gotten.
I was just getting to my knees when I was lifted off the ground and the Shredder stuck his face in mine.
"Once I wipe out you pathetic three, I'll go take care of your brother, and hunt down your beloved Sensei," Shredder threatened me.
I only glared at him. Did he think he could threaten me because I was the smallest? The youngest? The goofy one?
Heck no, he was not going to get away with that. I loved my big brother too much to let him die by this creep.
"No, you won't," was all I said.
I used both of my feet to push off of his chest and did a back hand spring flip to get away from him. I landed by Raph who was helping Donnie get up again.
"He's toying with us," Raph said as I landed.
"What?" I asked, totally confused as to what he meant.
"He's trying to waste time," Donnie explained. "He knows every second counts, he's stalling. Every second we waste keeping him busy is a second Leo is closer to death."
I felt my eyes widen.
"That's why he won't finish us yet…" Raph added. "He could have already if he wanted to."
"We have to get back in the Shellraiser!" I frantically told them as I realized they were right.
"Like he'll give us the chance…" Raph hissed.
"We have to try!" I urged. "Negative thinking isn't going to help us, and it's definitely not going to help Leo!"
Raph looked at me, so doubtful. I stared right back into his eyes, hoping he could understand. After a few seconds, he nodded and turned to face the Shredder, who was still standing there, not attacking.
Yep, he was definitely buying himself time.
We weren't going to get passed him easily, but we could do it. If only I had smoke bombs…they were all in the Shellraiser.
Raph tried to get past him first. He charged at him, trying to jump over him. Shredder grabbed him by the legs, swung him around, and threw him back to Donnie and I.
"We need something to distract him," Donnie commented while helping Raph back up.
"Guys," Raph spoke low so Shredder couldn't hear him. "What if I stay behind and hold him off while you guys go?"
"Absolutely not," Donnie snapped.
"We're not leaving you behind bro!" I added immediately.
"Do we have a choice at this point?" Raph questioned, rubbing his wrist on his mouth clearing the blood from the little cut he had there. "We've wasted enough time, Leo's not gonna make it unless we go now."
We both knew he was right, but neither of us wanted to believe it…
So this was what it was gonna come to? One of my brothers had to basically sacrifice himself to try to save the other one that we didn't even know was gonna make it himself?
"Donatello, Michelangelo," Raph used our full names in the silence of our hesitation. "It's okay, I know what I'm doing. Go."
He turned his back to us to face the Shredder. Donnie and I looked at each other for a second, knowing there was literally noting else that could be done, and there was going to be no changing his mind.
Remember how I said there were some nights I could hear Raph talking to Spike about us? There was one night in particular I could never forget.
It was right after the Kraang invasion, like, maybe two days later. He told Spike how much he regretted letting Leo try to die for us twice. He told Spike he felt like he owed Leo… I haven't tried to listen to Raph talk to Spike since that night.
"Shredder," Raph announced. "This ends now."
Donnie and I prepared to run. We knew the second Raph attacked…sacrificed himself…we'd only have a couple of seconds to get past the Shredder.
Raph held his hand behind his back, using his fingers to count down for us.
Three.
I looked at my brother, absolutely wrecked that this is what the night had resulted in.
Two.
From a regular patrol / mutagen hunt, to a failed Foot meeting ambush, to Leo getting stabbed, to Raph staying behind so we could get away…How did this happen?
One…
I held my breath.
"OROKU SAKI!" a voice boomed from the ally on the left side of the street.
We all, Shredhead included, turned to look at the owner of the voice.
No way…
"GET AWAY FROM MY SONS!" Master Splinter shouted.
"Hamato Yoshi…" Shredder cursed in a really low whisper.
He muttered some words in Japanese I didn't understand, and took a step towards our Sensei.
Raph, Donnie and I remained perfectly still. I didn't know what was going through their heads at that moment, but I was totally lost. The last time I had seen Master Splinter that night, was when he shot the arrow at Leo's sword…
Splinter now had another arrow pointed directly at Shredder. He released it and it crashed into the Shredder's armor, bouncing off.
"If you would like to kill me, Saki," Sensei said, pulling another arrow back. "Then here is your chance."
He shot the second arrow, and this time Shredder reacted. He dodged the arrow and bolted after our Sensei, clearing our path to the Shellraiser, to Leo.
That was Sensei's plan…he was helping us escape.
The two disappeared into darkness of the ally with the three of us staring after them.
"Let's go!" I shouted at my brothers when I realized this was our chance.
"R—right!" Donnie stuttered, probably shocked and confused by what had happened.
Raph didn't say a word. We all ran to Shellraiser and jumped in. Before we did anything else, we all rushed to Leo's side to check on him.
Some how, he looked even paler than he did when we left him…
Oh. My. God…
We immediately took our same positions: Raph as driver, Donnie doctoring Leo and me standing behind him watching.
If I thought Raph was driving crazy before, he was driving insanely now.
Not only were we on the deadline for Leo now, but we had no idea what had happened to Master Splinter facing the Shredder.
There was so much that had happened that night, too much that had happened that night.
By the time we actually did arrive back at the lair after what felt like an eternity of driving, I was halfway expecting to wake up and realize this was a nightmare. There was no way all of this could really happen.
I could have kissed the ground of the lair I was so happy to be home. In fact, I had never been that happy to be home.
The first night Master Splinter ever let us go up to the surface, I never wanted to go back home. I wanted to stay up there forever.
Now I never wanted to go back up there.
I jumped to the door of the Shellraiser and ripped it open, making way for us to carry Leo out and to Donnie's lab. Raph was next to me kicking everything that had fallen over to the side, so we wouldn't trip on anything. His crazy driving made a mess in the Shellraiser that we would have to clean later.
We as in the four of us.
We made it. All we had to do was carry Leo to Donnie's lab, and Donnie would fix Leo. Then he would wake up and everything would be okay! So even if this was a nightmare, it had a good ending.
I was so happy it was all over.
"Guys…" Donnie whispered.
Raph and I looked up to him.
"…Leo's not breathing."