I've been exceedingly tired throughout these updates and I'm trying to figure out just what could be the central cause of this feeling of just… Exhaustion? I don't know. I think that the fact that volleyball is finally over will help with that, though. I only dislocated my arm three times this season and sprained my back twice with no ankle troubles so all in all it's been a good year.
Once again, I really do appreciate you guys and your very supportive reviews. I'm hoping to get some action in soon for those of you concerned with that particular issue ;P
TMNT, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, Splinter, and the Foot © Mirage Studios
story © Turtlefreak121
Paradigm
Chapter Seven: How It Begins
We crossed the rooftops in silence. I still had trouble believing what I had uncovered in practice earlier that day. I kept looking over my shoulder, looking Leo over, checking his demeanor. It was hard to really read him, though.
The fact that the sun was just then setting and happened to glaze across the surface of his body, silhouetting him in the rose sky, did not help either. All I could see was his outline move across the rooftops.
"Geeze, you ever going to rest, Leo?" I asked as I skidded to a halt, stopping the training run to Leo's obvious annoyance. After all, we had only separated from Don and Raph for the team practices a few minutes ago.
"Yes, when this training is complete," he said shortly. I could see his eye ridges come together. "If you wanted to have fun then you should have watched that Star Trek marathon with Don earlier. Like I told you to."
I laughed.
"That would be Star Wars there, Spock-for-brains," I retorted before softening my smile somewhat. "And I didn't want to. Some days are good for it and others just aren't, y'know?"
"No," he muttered before tensing and spinning about, swords at the ready.
Seeing his alertness, I removed my chucks only to find the flutter of wings filled the air. Leo straightened in front of me as the flock of birds moved from the building level under us. They moved fast, becoming a single blot in the sky moving away from us before I could even really process it.
I smirked. "I like watching those nasty little things."
Leo huffed and returned his swords to his sheathes, but he had a solemn smile. "'Nasty little things' is right. They're not quite as fetching as birds outside of the city," he mused before looking back to them. They were hardly apparent in the sunset by then. "Like at the farm."
"Ah, Leo," I shook my head before stepping closer to him. "What are you so jumpy for? It's like you're expecting heads to roll or something."
"I kind of am," he sighed in admittance before looking at me. "I am so tired of feeling like the Foot is breathing down my neck. They're always there, I can feel them enclosing us... and there's nothing I can do about it except keep it down on paper." He shook his head and looked back.
"I'd never forgive myself if I slipped and let one of you get hurt."
I frowned. "You're cutting us a little short, aren't you, Bro?" I asked.
"You're cutting the Foot short," He snorted in reply.
"So? We'll cross that bridge as we get to it, Leo," I reasoned. "You know what we all need? A vacation from the stress of the city. We need to go to the beach." I slowly began to grin wider. "Oh, yeah! The beach! That'd be so great!"
He laughed. "So I could work up my nerves trying to make sure you guys didn't get caught by a scientist or cause some sort of Sea Monster riot?" He smiled at me. "I'd prefer to go to the farm."
"Oh?" I asked.
"Sometimes," he sighed, "I feel like it's the only place in the world where I'll ever be at peace... and still be safe..." he looked at me once more. "You understand?"
I did.
There are times when your body just shuts off from being so utterly exhausted and, in so many words, this is precisely what happened to me after about twenty minutes more in the care.
I am still wide awake, sprawled out on the backseat. I think I'm even snoring some, though. My chest is so heavy even when I just breathe. Eyes closed - really there's not a good argument for saying I'm awake other than I can hear everything around me.
Still, I'm somehow aware of how April is staring at me, a little sadly. Like I'm a lost child, that I need a hug.
Maybe I do need a hug?
"We're almost there," Casey suddenly speaks up, a little more cautious in tone than what's usual for our Space Case. It's kind of surprising.
"That's good," April sighs before reaching back, stroking my hand. There's a small noise from the back of her throat, as if she's holding something back. "He looks so weak, Casey..."
If not for the aforementioned body protesting, I would have snapped back. I'm so tired of being mothered - Splinter, Don, April - they need to stop.
Leo's the only one who really ever got the whole mothering thing down without making feel like an idiot. Raph has his moments, but it's nothing like Leo.
"I can't believe what that fight has done to him... he's so... introverted," she sighs. "And... and poor Leo."
She strokes my hand, making me acutely aware of how cold and numb the rest of my body feels. It's an old, familiar touch... which reminds me of why she's in a mothering mode.
April didn't get to see Leo off either, stuck with an unconscious me in the Lair.
Inwardly, I admit she's earned the right to mother me a bit.
"Everything will be alright..." Casey assures her before shifting loudly in the front. April's hand leaves mine and I can feel the brush of Casey's rougher fingers as he takes her fingers into his. "I'm sorry, Babe. I would never want a fight to be the last thing you heard from me... I've really been thinking more about it lately. It's not the way to treat people you love."
"I'm sorry, too, Casey," April agrees, voice a little watery. "You are right."
Their conversation continues, but it's private, not for my ears. I close my eyes tighter and just think.
They'll be fine... But their fights aren't anything like what Leo and me went through. I don't know how much I can deserve forgiveness for what we withstood.
I suppose the only way to try is to think it through from the beginning...
We both sat at Master Splinter's side and smiled at how content he seemed. We knew this was the end of a long punishment period, we knew that we would have freedom. We could see how clearly happy Master was with our progress and nothing could have felt better than making our father pleased.
"You have learned well this week, my sons?" our father questioned.
"We have, Sensei," we both responded readily.
He nodded in acknowledgement. "I am happy to hear, my sons. What have you learned?"
I laughed, I had to go first. Leo grinned at me though he did his best to look warning. I ignored him successfully. "I must say, Master, you have chosen a leader who has a secret urging for raunchy film and sketchy comedy numbers!"
Splinter chuckled. "Is that so, Michelangelo?"
"Oh, yeah."
Master Splinter rubbed his chin thoughtfully as Leo reached over and flicked the back of my head playfully. So much for him attempting to act honorable before our father. Splinter looked to him more intently next. "Your experiences taught you what, Leonardo?"
Leo smiled and straightened more. "I've learned, Master, that you may want to invest some more time into Michelangelo," Leo explained. "He is a natural in many of the aspects of ninjitsu that I have to work time and time again to master."
"A large claim, Leonardo," Splinter smiled before looking at me. "Does the truth meet the claim?"
I nervously laughed. "I hope so."
"Very well, my sons," Splinter nodded. "I am very pleased with the progress as a family you have made in this time. Very proud in fact. I hope you shall continue to advance upon the bonds you have made. I hope you shall continue to evolve the images of each other that you have created."
"Yes, Sensei," we agreed before bowing to him.
"You are free of your punishment," he finished.
With that we left and shoved each other around jokingly. It was simple fun. It was brotherly. I would give anything to do it again, to be so free of worries - to be free of each other yet wanting to be around each other at the same time.
"What are we going to do now?" I asked. "We practiced last night so we don't really need to go out on another practice run or patrol," I continued to reason, seeing his resistance. "If you wanted to bad enough, you could just send Raph and Don, y'know."
"I don't know, Mikey," he said lowly. "I'd rather finally be allowed to work on individual skills after all this time.
I shook my head. "Uh-uh, you're a worse liar than Don," I laughed. "Admit it: you'd like to be lazy for one night with your favorite brother!"
"But Don's so busy," Leo said almost thoughtfully.
"Hardy har," I snorted. "C'mon, Leo - to celebrate? I'll never make you do it again! I promise!" I pouted my lip and batted my eyes.
He rolled his.
Then he sighed, I could see him churning on the inside, negotiating all the different responsibilities on his mind. He groaned. "What for?" he muttered.
I grinned. I loved it when I won.
"Battle Ship!" I demanded.
"Make it chess and we have a deal," he grinned.
"Baby," I joked before nodding my head.
I watched as he walked off to tell Don and Raph, scrambled to get the chess set from under the living room's coffee table. Raph and Don walked by with Leo chasing after them with advice and directions - so on and so forth, same old Leo.
"In the very least stay five blocks from Main," he continued to press as they headed out the door. "They're very heavy in that area. Don't attack if you come across them, though. It's no doubt an ambush - their numbers have increased dramatically."
"For the love of - Leo! Back off! We get it!" Raph groaned.
"I'll keep Raphael under control," Donny promised. "Don't worry about it."
"Leo," I yelled out. "Get in here before they practice on you!" I could hear the others snicker. But it worked, as Leo eventually came toward the living area.
"That was very important, Mike," he expressed his annoyance clearly.
I shook the chess set. "So is this!"
"Goof."
"Hard-shelled!"
We grinned at each other before heading to the table. I got out the pieces and Leo set them up and talked battle strategies that he was going to use on me through the game. I stared at him and did my best to soak in everything he was telling me.
"Telling me your plans isn't all that smart, Leo," I said with a shake of my finger. "Poor choice, really."
Leo grinned at me. "Do you remember anything I just said?"
My beak twitched some in annoyance back. He was too damn cocky sometimes. He was right usually, too. I guess that's why it was so frustrating. It was exactly what got under Raph's skin so bad.
"No,"I finally admitted.
"That's why I do it," he mused before making the first move.
There was a reason why Master Splinter chose to give so much of the battle tactics work to Leo. Don might have been our all-around genius, but he couldn't hold a candle to Leo when it came to strategy. When the last straw came, Don was never one for making sacrifices.
Leo was like the Chunin, Splinter's right hand man and successor. He had been trained in these areas.
Suffice it to say, I lost.
"Checkmate," Leo grinned as he moved his knight forward.
"Ass," I hissed. "I like Battle Ship better anyway.
He rolled his eyes. "Get it out then," he sighed. "I'll just beat you at that, too."
I grinned and rushed toward the living room again. I mentally questioned why all our games were in there if we played them on the kitchen table, but my train of thought was lost as the lair door slammed open.
"GREAT ADVICE, LEADER!" Raphael roared as he and Don entered. "Lead us straight into a lion's den!"
Leo's chair hit the ground and he rushed as fast as he could to oversee how our brothers had fared. I was relieved to see only minor scratches and bruises, nothing like what we had seen before in worse encounters.
But Leo was still not happy.
"What happened!?" he demanded.
"We went where you told us," Don assured him. "Didn't even get close to the perimeter."
"Was it a scouting party?" he pressed.
"If it was, they got some good scouting done," I joked.
"Can it, Mike!" Leo snapped without ever so much as looking at me. He was in Leader Mode.
"No, full fledged ambush," Raph growled.
"You sure?"
"They had a freaking Elite with them!" Raph hissed. "Got outta there before he could get a shot at us."
"Sounds like a week to stay home then," I piped up.
Leo turned to me, furious at the information as much as my unserious manner. He pointed a thick index finger at my beak. "Grow up, Mike. Right now is not the time to be acting like some sort of hatchling."
He took off for the office and Raph took off after him - whether he was going to raise to my defense or snap off some more for Leo's lack of foresight was beyond me.
I just stood there. I was so... disappointed.
It was like we were back exactly where we started.
