All right, I'm back!
Got an italics flashback thingy in this chapter, so you'll know what to look for. Some of you may remember that in the last chapter of Suicide, I mentioned that Mikey remembered something. This is what it is.
Anyways, back to the story! (rubs hands together) Time to get serious.
Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT. Technically, I don't think I even own this story… is this copyrighted?
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Grateful that no nightmares had followed him into his sleep, Leo nevertheless rose from bed the next morning in a cold sweat. He briefly acknowledged Splinter's letter in his peripheral vision but paid it no mind as he bolted out of bed and room; straight to the kitchen.
In the desired location, Leo was mildly disappointed to find that none of his brothers were yet up. Of course, their reason was excusable; most people, especially teenagers, were not moving about at a quarter to five in the morning. Nevertheless, he would've liked their companionship right about now.
Moving to a cabinet by the refrigerator, the blue-clad turtle opened it to view his choices of cereal. Despite lacking the culinary abilities that even a seven-year-old could perform with ease, Leonardo could get his own cereal.
Cheerios, Froot Loops, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. After the careful deliberation of three seconds, he chose the latter of the three. Froot Loops tasted funny to him and he didn't feel like Cheerios today. His brothers shared his sentiments; which would explain why the box had yet to be opened.
April tried to get them healthier things, but not even she could force them to eat it.
Bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch successfully placed at the table with no mess or fire; Leo sat down before it. With a sigh, he picked up his spoon, stirring it among his breakfast.
Never had Wendell the Baker seemed so melancholy.
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Normally, Michelangelo would have slept on until eleven, but today was different. From seven 'til ten this morning, there'd be a marathon of the Spiderman cartoons he'd watched back when he was six.
Since their training sessions now began at noon, there was plenty of time for cartoons. And Mikey was planning on using every bit of that time to his advantage.
With five minutes to spare, the orange-banded turtle first went to the kitchen; grabbing a muffin, two waffles, an orange, and a banana to snack on. As he was heading to the glorious wall of television, he noticed a bowl of half-eaten cereal on the table.
Knowing for a fact that Raph was still sleeping, and, if he was awake, that Don would probably be in his lab, Mike had a good idea at to who it belonged too.
Sure enough, as he sat down, Mikey noticed his elder brother sitting by the armchair, on the floor, staring blankly at some magazine that was several years old turning the pages every second or so with just as much enthusiasm.
"Hey, Leo." He greeted cheerfully; hoping to brighten whatever mood the blue-clad turtle might be in.
Leo looked up; nodded his hello.
"You wanna sit up here?" Mikey offered. "The couch is a lot more comfortable than the stinkin' floor."
It didn't take even two seconds for him to rise and make his way to the couch. Folding his legs under him, Leo looked at his little brother. "What're you doing up so early?"
Mikey put on one of his famous grins. "Spiderman marathon. The old ones, remember them, bro? They were the best!"
Even though he nodded, he could tell that Leo didn't remember them as fondly as Mikey did. That sixth year had been different for the blue-banded turtle.
Hoping he hadn't accidentally caused his brother to take a painful trip down memory lane, Mike switched on the TV. "Wanna watch?"
Looking from him to the television, Leo nodded again. "Sure."
Two episodes went by, broken up by commercial breaks. Donatello got up, had breakfast, watched Spiderman for ten minutes, and then headed to his lab. Another episode, more commercials.
Before the fourth episode began starring the web-slinger, Leo went catatonic.
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One moment, he was in the lair, the next, a swirling darkness. Leo hated this.
Logan's voice came out of the inky walls; he himself was nowhere to be seen. A new trick of his. "Well wasn't that a fun vacation?"
Leo didn't answer, but continued to look around now and then, though he knew his search was in vain. Logan did whatever he wanted, not what you wanted.
"Eight months," he continued, "and you just sit around. I thought you said you'd be able to get better without me?"
"Maybe I would," Leo had to say, "but you're always here."
"Still, you haven't done much."
Leo ground his teeth. Things were much better, but Logan never thought so. That was just a minor improvement to him. "I have, too; with my brothers."
Appearing three inches away to his left, Logan shook his head. "Whatever. Point is: nothing's getting done your way." Leo stiffened, fearing what was coming. "So we're gonna try my way again."
"I don't want to."
"Too bad." Logan said. Sometimes, the boy seemed morbidly comical, but now he looked dead serious. "I warned you. If you'd done things my way to begin with, everything would be fine, but now it'll be much harder."
Trying to ignore him, Leo listened for anything else. Sometimes, he could hear his brothers. This was one of those times. He tried to make out each word being said, repeat them.
Yet Logan's voice was so much closer. "From this point on, nearly everything you see and hear will be a reminder of me."
Still listening to the brother on the outside, Leo couldn't help but rebut Logan's comment. "You can't see the future." He said bitterly. "How the hell can you do that?"
That was not a question. Logan had great power here in Leo's mind, but that was where his limits lay.
Logan grinned. Dark and deadly. He knew what Leo was thinking. "I don't need to. You'll see soon enough."
Then he was gone. And the memory began.
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Spiderman would have to take the backseat for now. When Leo started to repeat what Mikey was saying, the younger turtle went into his game mode.
While he would repeat anything said to him, Mikey never made Leo say something stupid. He may be the jokester of the family, but he still understood the tragedy of such situations.
Besides, Leo was a mutant turtle, not a parrot.
Mikey looked around the room. "There's a plant, to the right, in the corner of the room."
Leo, with a blank stare, nevertheless heard. "There's a plant, to the right, in the corner of the room."
"No darkness." Mike said, understanding the dark world he went to when this happened.
"No darkness."
"The old armchair's to the left."
"The old armchair's to the left."
Even though he was finding things all over the room to replace what Leo was seeing in his mind, Mikey never took his eyes off his brother. "No darkness."
"No darkness."
"Spiderman's on TV."
"Spiderman's on TV."
"No darkness."
"No darkness."
He decided to us himself for this. "Mikey's on the couch, to the right."
"Mikey's on the couch, to the right."
"No darkness."
Leo still stared blankly ahead. "No darkness."
It went on for about another five minutes, but Leo eventually came out of it. He looked at Mikey for a second before bowing his head. "Sorry."
Mike shook his head. "It's okay, bro. It's not your fault."
Even though the words never made it out of his throat, he saw Leo mouth 'I think it is'.
After a few seconds, Leo straightened his composure. "I need to go talk to Donny now."
Waving a small goodbye, which Mikey returned, Leo left.
As always lately, Mikey began to wonder if things were getting worse for his brother.
The last time things had gotten bad like that, was soon after the event that had made Leo like this.
He didn't remember a whole lot, but Mikey did remember a few things.
There was a time when Leo refused to eat for nearly a week. Instead, he'd just lay on the couch, in the fetal position. At first, the three of them, Raph, Don, and Mikey, had thought maybe he just wanted to watch TV.
Later, only because they walked in while Splinter was trying to get him to eat something, they found out Leo was crying into a pillow.
And then there were the nightmares.
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At the time, they were sharing rooms. Mike with Donny, and Raph with Leo. But then the latter brother started having nightmares. Bad ones, in which he'd cry out in the middle of the night. He refused to leave the room, even to eat.
For a short amount of time, Splinter thought it'd be best for Raph to sleep in their room.
One day, Mikey had finally gotten tired of Raph. Not only was he mean, he snored! He made his way to Leo's room, hoping he could talk his brother into getting Raph back where he belonged.
When he entered, the light wasn't one. It took a few minutes for Mikey's eyes to adjust, but he began to look around. Leo wasn't in his bed.
"Leo?" he had asked softly.
Making his way around the room, Mike couldn't find him. He was just about to leave when he finally noticed the soft sobs coming from under Leo's bed.
Getting down on his knees, Mikey peeked under the mattress to find Leo curled up on the floor, crying in his arm. "Leo? You okay?"
Leo never answered.
The next thing he knew, Splinter was beside him. "Michelangelo, what are you doing in here?"
Mikey decided it best not to explain his original intentions. They didn't seem important now anyways. "Master Splinter, what's wrong with Leo?"
Splinter sighed, and then sat down on the floor, back against Raphael's bed. He picked up Mikey. "I am not sure, my son. He will not tell me."
They sat there for a few minutes. Finally, Splinter patted his back. "Come now. I think it is best that you go now, Michelangelo."
Mikey nodded and crawled out of Splinter's arms. But as he put his hand down to push himself up, he felt Leo grab his hand. The grip wasn't tight, but it felt like he didn't want to let go.
He found that Leo was looking at him. "Do you hate me?" He asked softly.
It took him a moment to understand what Leo was really asking of him. He wondered if Leo knew what they had all said about him when they'd been out of the lair. Raph had been in a bad mood that day, proclaiming that he hated Leo.
The rest of them had said it, too.
But it hadn't really been true. Mikey shook his head. "No, I don't hate you, Leo."
Splinter allowed Mikey to stay with him until he fell asleep. Leo didn't seem to want him to go.
But right before he drifted off, Leo had spoken in a voice no higher than a whisper. "He said that you would."
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Mikey now understood what Leo had meant that day.
But there was no time to think about that. Spiderman forgotten, he turned the channel to find the news. They were talking about the stupid Diamondbacks again.
He switched off the TV and made his way back to the kitchen. Raph was up now, moving around with all of the indications that he was not a morning person.
Apparently, he'd seen the news before Mike had turned it off. Raph grinned at him. "What do ya say about goin' snake huntin' later today?"
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Longer! It was longer!
So how was that chapter? Good, I hope.
Please review!
