Leo stood on a cliff top, peering over the side. At the bottom was a soft yellow light. It was calling his name, whispering it to him. "Leo…Leo…" it called softly. He wanted to jump, to go to it, but someone was holding his arm. He looked to see who it was, and he saw a person dressed in white. For some reason, he couldn't see its face, but he knew it was stern and determined he should not jump. "Leonardo." it said. "You cannot go there yet." it said to him. Leo looked confused. "Why? There is nowhere else to go." he asked it. The person moved aside and pointed to a rock. It just looked like a rock at first, but then Leo saw pictures appear on it. He saw a girl, holding something in her lap. He looked closer and realized it was his head. His eyes were closed, and he looked terrible. He couldn't see the girl's face, nor could he remember anything about that ever happening, but he knew he was in it and he didn't know why. Suddenly, he heard a voice, soft, husky and sweet, saying, "Hamato Leonardo, you must wake up. Come back, you're not finished yet. Leonardo, the world needs you. Come back. Wake up, Leonardo." Something began to pull on him, but the light person had disappeared. An unseen force tugged him toward the rock, literally dragging him physically into the image. He wanted to stay, and as he yelled and grabbed at plants and other rocks, memories washed over him. He saw flashing pictures of others like him. A word entered his mind: brothers. He saw them before he left them to find the prisoner: worried, desperate, scared. He'd thought then they were scared about the ship going down, and not getting out in time. But he knew now that they were actually scared for him, and he saw through their eyes his face: battered, scarred, bloodied, fierce, determined, sacrificial. The voice kept calling, and it didn't sound alluring, it sounded scared, it sounded desperate. An image flew into his mind, an image of the girl on the rock, tears coursing down her dusty cheeks to mingle with the rain still pouring from the polluted clouds. He remembered who she was and he felt a strange connection to her. Leo closed his eyes, let go of the bush he'd grabbed, and was swept into the picture.
Echo watched Leo's face for some sign of life, but he was slipping further away with every second. With one last desperate effort, she mentally called his full name and sent him an image of his childhood; his brothers and father. He stopped breathing and she thought for a moment that he was gone. Tears slipped out of the corners of her deep blue eyes and her shoulders slumped. Suddenly, Echo felt Leo's chest fill with air as he took a quick, deep breath. His eyes flew open and his face shone with an eerie light as he took in her face, the rain and the scorched carcass of the destroyed ship behind them. He closed his eyes again and sat slowly up. Echo sat back and watched him. He studied the mud for a moment as if there was some interesting factor hidden there, and then turned to face her. "You're telepathic." he said matter-of-factly. She raised an eyebrow, her friendly sarcasm kicking in. "You noticed." she commented sarcastically. He smiled, and she liked his smile. It was friendly and open. "Where are your brothers?" she asked. Leo's eyes widened and he cast a glance at the wide open space where they were situated. His gaze rested tragically on the ship. And his eyes closed. Echo felt his sense of despair wash over her like a tsunami. She sent him an emotion; courage. "They might've made it off." she offered hopefully. He looked at her and squared his shoulders. "You're right," he decided, and stood up. "Donnie would've gotten them out. He knew where to go." Just then, a much smaller hovercraft shot like a ballistic missile over their heads. "Look out!" Leo yelled and jumped for Echo. He landed on top of her and covered her so she didn't get hit. He winced as the bottom of the hovercraft grazed his shell. It sped off toward the wreckage of the demon ship. "You can get off me now." came a muffled voice from beneath him. Leo gingerly picked himself off her. "Oh, sorry." he said awkwardly, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks." she said, brushing herself off. Then, looking disgustedly at the grey sky, "This rain is seriously getting on my nerves." Abruptly, the rain stopped. Leonardo looked at her disbelievingly. "If I hadn't just seen that, I would never have believed it." He sounded pretty sure of himself. Echo placed a hand on her hip. "Oh, wouldn't you?" It felt good to be out of that cell, out of that ship. It felt good to be free. She shot a happy grin at Leo. He blinked, and returned it with a cheesy smile. Then his face creased thoughtfully. "Hey, you're telepathic," he said again. She pursed her lips. "So you said earlier," she replied. He looked really excited. "Can you find my brothers, see if they're okay? Like, send your mind out to look for them?" He paused, and then added pleadingly, "Please?" Echo sighed mentally, but she wouldn't complain; it wouldn't make Leo feel any better. And she couldn't deny the look of hope in his eyes. She conceded with a silent nod, closed her pale green eyes and began to focus. She concentrated on a picture of their faces that she'd retrieved from Leo's memory and swept the area for them. Strangely enough, she could sense them, but she couldn't tell where they were. She opened her now reddish eyes and looked straight at Leo. "They're in the vicinity, a radius of several kilometres. Your brother Donatello is numb and focussed, he thinks you're dead and has taken over as leader. He's trying to concentrate on keeping the others safe and not think about you. Michelangelo is in shock, and a typical state of denial. He keeps telling himself that you made it out, but doubt is setting in more with every passing hour." She stared up at Leo, still sitting in the mud. He looked depressed. "What about Raph? Is he…?" Leo halted mid-sentence, afraid to say it. Echo shook her head. "Raphael is in a very dark place. He is, in a word, shattered. Oddly, he isn't in shock or denial, but rather he's withdrawn to a place deep inside himself to deal with the loss. He's unaware of his surroundings, only aware of losing you." Leo looked broken at hearing of his brothers' state. He clenched his fists. "We have to find them. Fast." Echo concentrated again on the other turtles and this time, she got a heading. She opened her eyes and pointed at a far off cluster of blackened trees. "There. They're hiding in that grove." She stood up. Leo began to race off in the direction of the trees. "Come on!" he called. "We have to get to them quick!" Echo looked back at the wrecked ship one last time, and then sprinted after the ninja.
