Chapter 6

April made sure to keep her breathing slow and steady, eyes straining to see forward through the dark. She, the turtles, and Casey had set out for the city at dusk, and they'd made their careful way around the outskirts, hiding themselves in the woods near the prison. The turtles wore their dark green cloaks for camouflage, but they had discarded the green masks. Don wore his purple mask, and Mikey wore orange. Raph's red mask was there as always, but he had sewn the left side closed to protect his injured eye.

They'd watched the guards until darkness fell and hid them from view...and then it was just a matter of waiting. The hours had dragged past. Eventually the noise from the city sank into exhausted silence, the ringing of the church bells the only way to mark the time. Shortly before three o'clock, a soft rustling in the brush announced the approach of Ryan, Angel's brother. He knelt beside Don for a short, whispered conference, and then he was gone, slinking into the shadows. April balled both fists in the hem of her cloak, holding her breath as she listened for the time. The three chimes sounded loud and discordant in the silence, sending shivers of anticipation along her nerves - and then Mikey's hand closed around hers, and they were moving. Her fingers tightened around his when they drew near the bristling shape of the armored guard, but Ryan nodded at them from within his stolen armor and they passed by the narrow gate and slipped into the prison complex.

April gave Mikey's hand a gentle tug, and then she was leading. The outer buildings were trial chambers and barracks full of sleeping guards. She was sure her pounding heart could be heard echoing off the stone walls, but there was no sign of life, and before long, they had drawn near to the main building. A second stone wall surrounded the entrance to the prison.

"The guardhouse is just inside," April whispered in Mikey's ear. She leaned forward cautiously and peered through the archway, but caught her breath when she saw the guardhouse dark and empty. Instead, Hun sat like an immovable boulder in front of the door to the prison, and the displaced sheriff Stockman patrolled the small courtyard holding his crossbow.

"Will you put that thing away?" Hun growled, glaring at Stockman as he stalked by him for the third time. "You're so twitchy you're just as likely to shoot yourself in the foot as you are an intruder."

"I don't need you to tell me what to do," Stockman said. "And it shows what you know about crossbows. This weapon is in no danger of firing." He patted the weapon. "The safety's on Old Betsy." Hun snorted derisively and folded his arms across his chest. He leaned back in his chair, resting his head against the wall.

"I don't recall our orders including taking naps," Stockman said spitefully.

"We aren't," Hun said. "You're still awake, aren't you? Go tell the Shredder if it bothers you so much." He settled deeper into his chair and closed his eyes. Stockman muttered venomously under his breath, but didn't argue.

Mikey let go of April's hand. He gently steered her to stand next to the wall, his hand on her shoulder a silent wait here. April pressed her back against the stone, staying well out of the way. Don waited until Stockman was passing by, and then he lunged. Stockman couldn't even squawk in alarm before he was subdued. Mikey wrenched away the crossbow, grinning as he gave it a pat. "Hello, Betsy," he said under his breath.

Casey gave Raph a nudge, and the pair of them slipped through the archway into the courtyard. There was the brief sound of a scuffle, a muffled grunt from Hun, and the sound of something heavy hitting the cobblestones. In less than a minute, both Hun and Stockman had been bound, gagged, and bundled into the empty guardhouse - Hun, unconscious, and Stockman too intimidated to put up much of a struggle.

Don held up the bunch of keys he'd liberated from Hun's belt and unlocked the iron door to the prison.

Casey pulled the door closed behind him, shrinking back into the shadows inside the door. "You guys go," he whispered. "I'll stay here and make sure nobody comes after you."

"We've got twenty minutes," Don said in a low voice. He pulled three keys off the bunch in his hand and gave them to Raph, Mikey, and April. "Let's hurry."

April hurried up the stairs with the three brothers, heading for the first floor of the prison. She had to concentrate to keep her booted feet from making noise as they struck the stone. The turtles, however, moved as silently as shadows. Their bare feet didn't make a sound, and even the candles spaced at irregular intervals along the stairwell didn't flicker as they passed by.

Don paused in front of the first door, trying two keys before the lock clanked open. The four of them scattered throughout the room, awakening startled prisoners, unlocking their shackles, and urging them to be quiet. "Wait here," Don told them. "We're getting you all out, but we've all got to leave at once. If the guards see you leaving, it'll give the rest of us away. I promise, we'll all go together." The prisoners readily obeyed, their gratitude and awe of the outlaws convincing them to comply.

April and the three brothers made their way through the prison, freeing room after room of the Shredder's captives. But as the minutes ticked relentlessly by, their anxiety mounted. Although their progress was quick, and cell after cell became liberated, the feeling of dread began creeping in: Leonardo was not there.

The cell was pitch black and cold. Leonardo knew he had been imprisoned for at least a few days, but in the utter dark, it was impossible for him to measure the passage of time. Shackles around his wrists, ankles, and neck were connected with heavy lengths of chain. His hands and feet were barely a foot apart, meaning he could walk, but only at a slow shuffle. All the chains were attached to a heavy leather belt that had replaced his own gear. His mask and sword had been taken from him as well. He couldn't extend his arms more than a few inches forward, and the tension on the shackle around his neck prevented him from standing completely straight.

At least he could lie down, although a thin blanket over a pile of straw was a less-than-comfortable substitute for a bed. Leo pulled his limbs a little closer to his body, breath hitching as his shoulder and side flared with pain. At least three ribs were cracked, that he knew. And he'd lost a considerable amount of blood from the deep grooves carved in his arm and shoulder by the Shredder's bladed gauntlet.

He swallowed hard through a dry throat, glancing up once towards the ceiling grate that was the only way in or out of his cell, but he knew no one would come to offer him water before morning. But even then…

Leo gulped again, and this time it had nothing to do with thirst. The Shredder had come to his cell at sunset (had it been sunset?) to tell him that he would be hanged at noon the following day. Leo wasn't afraid to die. At least, he didn't think he was. He'd always known that the life he and his brothers had chosen - or, in Raph's case, had been forced into - didn't bode well for long-term survival. He'd always known it was a possibility that he'd die in battle. But this...just waiting, unable to do anything except feel his heartbeat ticking away the hours of his life…

This wasn't what he'd expected.

The metal grate creaked open overhead, and Leo scrambled to sit up. How could it be morning already? He knew he couldn't escape, but he wasn't just going to lie there and let the guards drag him away. At the very least, he would meet his death standing on his own two feet, moving under his own power. But his muscles were chilled and stiff, and he couldn't manage to rise.

Instead of the expected heavy tread of soldiers, though, a shadowy figure dropped through the grate to land lightly in front of him. Before Leo could react, a thin beam of candlelight sliced through the darkness as the visitor opened the side of a dark lantern. The glow was dim, but seemed harsh to his dark-accustomed eyes.

"Who - ?" He flinched back as the black-clad figure reached for him, but his words stumbled to a startled halt as the visitor pulled off his black hood, shaking out a pair of long white ears. Leo stared, momentarily frozen with shock, then drew back in alarm. "W-what?...Usagi?"

"Hush," the rabbit said, glancing briefly towards the cell opening. "We do not have much time." He pulled a pair of thin but sturdy metal picks from his belt and set to work on the shackles around Leo's wrists.

"Not to sound ungrateful, but what are you doing here?" Leo asked, still watching him warily.

"You and your brothers are not the only ones who want Oroku Saki gone," Usagi replied. "My ruler asked for volunteers to come to the tournament as a way to get close to the Shredder. Apparently his idea was not original." The chains fell away from Leo's arms and Usagi moved on to his ankles. His expression darkened. "Assassination is a dishonorable act, but I was the most qualified, so I accepted the mission." A moment more and Leo's legs were free, and Usagi set to work on the shackle around his neck. "But when I heard that you had been condemned, I knew I could not let them carry out the sentence. You may not be aware of it, but news of your deeds has spread far beyond the borders of your realm. You may have failed to overthrow the Shredder, but your country needs you. Sparing your life seemed more important to me than taking his."

"Nice of you to change your mind," Leo replied, rubbing his wrists and trying to shake feeling back into his cold hands.

Usagi rolled his eyes. "If I had not attacked you the other day, the Shredder's soldiers would not have given me enough leave to move among them and determine your location." He smirked. "Believe me, if I had been trying to kill you, you would not have shaken me off so easily." The shackle around Leo's neck opened with a rusty clank and fell away.

Leo huffed out a laugh, raising a brow ridge. "You think so, do you?"

"I know so," Usagi replied matter-of-factly. He frowned at the slashes on Leo's arm, several days old and still not tended, then used his knife to cut the blanket into broad strips. "Hold still."

Leo wasn't able to suppress a wince as Usagi bound his arm, but he did his best to remain motionless. "I'm prepared to let you test that theory once my arm is healed and I find myself a new sword."

Usagi tied the last knot, smiling dryly. "Only time can heal your arm, but I can help you with the second condition." He reached behind him and for the first time Leo noticed the small bundle that the rabbit had brought down with him. "I thought you might be missing these."

Leo sobered as he saw his mask and his sword lying wrapped in the folds of his cloak. "How did you get this?"

Usagi simply gave him a smug look and held out the mask. Leo quickly tied it around his head, then took hold of Usagi's outstretched hand and climbed unsteadily to his feet. Usagi caught hold of his elbow to steady him, frowning a little. "Are you able to walk?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Leo forced himself to ignore the ache of chilled muscles as he strapped his sword against his shell once more and pulled on his cloak.

Usagi darted a wary glance up at the grate. "Are you ready? The guards will be changing position any moment, and there is some strange activity in the prison." He laced his fingers together and created a stirrup with his hands, silently offering Leo a boost.

"Isn't that where we are?" Leo stepped into Usagi's palms, gratefully accepting the help. Ordinarily he would have been able to make the jump out of the cell with ease, but he was weakened from cold, hunger, and pain, and he found that he needed the lift. He found himself in a damp, narrow hallway. There was no light. He knelt on extended his good arm down into the cell. Usagi picked up his dark lantern in one hand, sprang up and caught hold of Leo's hand with the other, and climbed nimbly out to join him.

"Not quite. The main holding cells are several floors up. We're in a solitary confinement area in the cellar. Stockman put them in secretly even before the Shredder and his army invaded."

Leo gave his rescuer another skeptical glance. "How did you find out about it?"

"You would be surprised how careless some of the prison guards are when it comes to attending to their ale," Usagi replied. "Certain herbs can decrease inhibitions and make the drinker more talkative." His nose wrinkled in distaste. "Ordinarily I would consider such crude tactics beneath me, but with your execution scheduled for tomorrow I did not have time for finesse."

Usagi set off down the hallway, walking quickly but silently. At first, Leo had to struggle to keep up, legs stiff and sore from his confinement, but after a moment or two he began to move more easily. He followed Usagi up a startlingly long and steep flight of stairs. Although his broken ribs protested angrily, the air he breathed grew warmer and less damp. The ceiling grew lower and lower until they were beneath an old wooden trap door.

Usagi braced his shoulders beneath the door and cautiously lifted. The rusty hinges groaned, but Usagi lifted the door slowly enough so that the sound was quiet and didn't carry. "Hold the door," he whispered.

Leo stepped up to take Usagi's place, letting the the door rest on his good shoulder. He was surprised at the weight, but he didn't have to stay there for long. Usagi was out and stabilizing the door for Leo in a matter of seconds. Leo climbed out, brow ridges lifting as he realized why the door had been so heavy. Cobblestones had been laid over the wood so that when the door was replaced, only someone who knew it was there could pick it out in the center of the floor.

Usagi closed the door on his dark lantern as they started down the hall. They squeezed through a window that was just big enough to allow Leo's inflexible shell through, then dropped to the ground outside. They moved from shadow to shadow, drifting silently as they made their way around the outer wall of the prison. As they passed within view of the main entrance, however, Usagi stiffened and held out a hand.

"What is it?" Leo asked after a moment, when his companion made no attempt to explain.

"Hun is gone," Usagi answered. "As is Stockman. They were patrolling the courtyard when I passed by, but now I do not know where they have gone. And that makes our situation much more dangerous."

"Well, I don't hear any sound of alarm," Leo said. "Let's just go." Both of them froze, however, as the barred door to the prison slowly opened. Two cloaked humans emerged - the larger stood beside the door like a sentry, but the hunch of his shoulders told Leo that whoever this was, he didn't belong there. A shorter, more slender figure followed. They paused, then beckoned to someone out of sight. Leo's eyes widened in surprise as a steady stream of people began following the smaller person as they slipped away.

And then a rush of relief and hope washed over him, because Leo knew the next silhouette to appear: shorter than the humans, cloak concealing the curve of a shell, and the telltale shape of a bo staff strapped to its back. Leo started forward, but Usagi's hand clamped on his arm, holding him back.

"What are you doing?" he hissed.

"It's okay," Leo said with a smile. "We can show ourselves. That's my brother."

With every minute that passed, Don felt their loop of time closing like a noose, and the feeling of dread grew as he and the others began to realize that their one chance to save Leo was on the brink of failure.

"I've checked the last cell. He's not here," Raph said, panting, as he ran back to join them. Don glanced at him worriedly. In the dark, it was hard to tell if his strained breaths were due to worry or injury.

"Is there anywhere else we could look?" Mikey asked.

April shook her head helplessly. "I don't know - I thought I knew this place. If they have Leo locked up somewhere else…"

"We have to go," Don said quietly. "Our time's nearly up."

Mikey shook his head. "Donny...we can't just…"

"We have to go," Don repeated firmly. The words caused a terrible ache to well up within his chest, but he forced himself to go on. "It's not just about Leo now. We've got all these people waiting to follow us out." Nobody said anything for a moment, and April swallowed against the knot in her throat. Then Mikey nodded, putting his hand on the back of Raph's shell when the red-masked turtle clenched his hands into trembling fists.

Don sent April down the stairs while he and his brothers dispersed to give instructions to the prisoners. There were several dozen people who had been arrested, and ordinarily such a large group would be difficult to deal with, but the hope of escape and the trust the prisoners placed in the outlaws made everything move smoothly. Casey and April moved out first, and then April ghosted away, leading the prisoners with her.

Casey saw the bleak expression on Don's face, and his expression darkened. "He wasn't in there?"

"No," Don said dejectedly. "We'll have to see if we can get to him later. We can't even watch the prison for when he's taken - " The words to the gallows crumbled to dust on his tongue. "We'll have to wait in the village square and try to get save him then."

"Won't be easy," Casey said.

Don chuckled mirthlessly. "Nothing we do ever is. Listen, Casey, if things go bad tomorrow and we can't get Leo out, you'll have to - " In the arched entryway to the courtyard, a shadow moved, and Don tensed as the sharp edge of awareness cut through his grief. That's it, we're discovered, we'll have to run…

But then the shadow separated into two silhouettes, and Don stiffened in surprise as he recognized the long ears of the rabbit archer Usagi, and then he saw -

"Leo." The word rasped out of his throat before he could remember to keep silent, and he crossed the small courtyard in three strides and threw his arms around his brother. "Where the shell did you come from?"

"Usagi tracked me down," Leo said, hugging him back.

And then Don noticed that Leo was only embracing him with one arm, and he stepped back and saw the arm hanging by his side, covered in rough bandages, saw the lines of pain and weariness around his eyes "How badly are you hurt?"

Leo smiled. "I'm okay, Don."

Don looked over at Usagi. He didn't understand what had happened to make Usagi rescue Leo after the way he'd attacked at the tournament, but now wasn't the time to ask questions. "Thank you for finding my brother," he said earnestly.

Usagi dipped his head in a half-bow. "I am glad I could. But if you want to keep him, we should leave."

That brought Don's focus back to the here-and-now. "Right. Just as soon as we get the rest of these people out of here."

Leo looked behind Don in bemusement, giving Casey a distracted wave. "Speaking of...Don, what's going on?"

Don shrugged, looking a little sheepish. "Well, we figured if we were going to all the trouble of breaking you out…"

"You'd break everyone else out, too?" Leo finished, raising a brow ridge.

"It was Mikey's idea."

Leo smiled fondly. "I'm not surprised."

Just then, Mikey bounded down the last few steps and emerged from the prison. "That's everyone, Don," he said. A brilliant smile dawned on his face as he saw Leo, and only Don's hurriedly whispered "Careful!" made him curb his enthusiastic lunge into a gentler embrace.

"Shell, Leo, I'm glad to see you! Raph! Raphie, look!"

Leo looked up as Raph exited the prison and shut the door behind him. Don saw the way Leo's face shifted when he saw half of Raph's mask stitched closed, saw the scar on his face beneath the red fabric, but before Leo could speak, Raph shrugged and backhanded the air dismissively. "Never mind, Leo. We'll sort everything out later. Let's just get out of here."

Don glanced after the retreating prisoners, nodding briskly. "We're cutting it awfully close," he agreed. "Come on." He started off, following in the direction the prisoners had gone, but they'd only traveled a short distance before a shrill trumpet blast shattered the silent night, and the tramp of booted feet echoed off the stone buildings. Torches flared to life and the shouts of guards rang out.

"There it is," Raph growled. "Turtle luck kicking in again."

"Leo, can you run?" Mikey asked, whirling his chucks out of their holsters to tuck beneath his arms.

Leo looked determined. "I'll be fine."

Don nodded briskly and pulled his bo free. "Okay, guys. Let's go." They set off at a run, Casey beside them, Usagi a ghostly white blur following behind.