To tell the truth, Leo was still confused about his little brother's last words. He was overthinking to the point where he believed it was a cryptic message (for what?). But it didn't make sense. What could possibly be the meaning behind two simple words?
Leo rubbed his temple, eyes closed. He decided to keep it until he met him again. Now it was the time to face the reality.
He looked around the small space. In front of him was the iron gate, behind him was the wire door. He was trapped with the human boy named Sam, who was Henry's little brother. Frankly, he didn't have much experience with siblings besides his own. Leo glanced at the downcast boy. Clearly, the boy wanted nothing but to get to his own brother as fast as possible.
All clickers already ran after Henry and Mikey. None of them saw him, so this small space behind the gate was probably safe. Then he turned to touch the metal wire on the door and thought about how to get through. There was a small hole on the floor connected to the space behind the wire door. He wanted to do it, but his shell didn't fit the small space. Sam followed his gaze at the hole and perked up at his idea.
"I can crawl through it and open the door for you."
Leo considered the offer. Looking through the door, it was wide space. He didn't hear anything from the other side. No clickers at least. Finally, he nodded.
"Be careful, Sam."
Sam looked surprised at him and he had no idea why. The emotion behind those dark brown eyes was gone before he could analyze. Sam crawled through and quickly opened the door.
"There you go."
"Good job." Once again, that emotion was back in the boy's eyes and he felt uncomfortable. Why did Sam look at him like that? He cleared his throat and patted the boy's back. "Hey, don't worry. We'll be fine."
Sam was back to stare at the floor and mumbled. "Yeah…"
Perhaps he didn't feel safe. Even though Sam was younger than him, they almost had the same height. Years of hiding behind someone who was taller than him made the boy felt neither of them was adult, that he was not safe. But Leo gave his word, he would take care of him no matter what. Leo awkwardly grabbed his hand.
"Come on Sam, this way."
Sam didn't jerk his hand away, but his eyes fixed on his hand. Leo quickly released it and cursed inwardly. Did he treat Sam like a youngling and offend him?
"Umm, sorry."
Sam widened his eyes. "No, I-I was surprised. Your skin is slick."
He was aware that they shouldn't talk since clickers could hear them, but he couldn't deny the look on the boy's face. It was pure curious, and for once it was coming from someone who didn't want to dissect him.
"Umm, it's because we're part reptiles. Have you ever seen turtles before?
"No," Sam replied shyly. "Never seen a real one."
"Well, I think we're a little bit different from normal turtles..." He trailed off, not sure what to say. He wished Donnie was here to explain this kind of thing. His hand was back on his side loosely. Then he felt something touched his hand, Sam was grabbing one of his fingers since his human hand was small, giving a sign that he wasn't afraid of him. Leo smiled. They walked in silence to the next room.
There was no sign of any movement except the dripping sounds from the pipes. Sam rubbed his arm as the temperature seemed to drop, his hand still glued on his green finger. When he opened the next door, the sight of the curved tunnel with stairs down to the water greeted him. There was some moonlight from the hole above enough for him to see that half of the tunnel was underwater. They had reached the dead end. Leo knew the water level was quite deep. Sam unconsciously squeezed his finger in fear.
"The end of waterway must be the intersection tunnel, that's where we can reach another room and find the way to meet them." He looked around, checking if he turned to the right direction. The structure in sewers was usually the same so he was certain there must be the way out at the end of the tunnel. He hoped he was right, he didn't want to get lost in here. "There. We must go that way."
"Ugh," Sam glared at the green water below.
Leo knew the boy couldn't swim, and he seemed afraid of water, so Leo gave him a warm smile and patted Sam's shoulder.
"It's okay. Wrap your arms around my neck."
He adjusted his backpack and scabbards, dropped on one knee to let the boy climbed on his back. The edge of his shell was hard, he told him to be careful. Sam was amazed by his shell that he forgot about water momentarily. But when they were in the water, Sam looked nervous again.
"You sure we won't drown? Because, you know, we have to be in the water for a long time." He looked inside the dark, long tunnel and beamed the flashlight. The end of the tunnel was still unseen.
"Sam, I am part turtle. I won't drown. I won't let you drown either."
His confidence seemed to boost the boy's spirit a bit. Sam mumbled on his shell. "Okay."
Leo kept the top of his shell and head above the water all the time. It was ice cold water so he wanted to get out of it as fast as he can.
After ten minutes, they were inside the dark, humid tunnel. There was no moonlight like the other tunnel, the only light in here came from Sam's flashlight. He felt the boy shifted on his back and quietly observed him.
"You swim so fast."
"Swimming is natural skill for me."
"Can you teach me how to swim?"
His voice was so small and full of shyness. He knew this type of voice, it was from one little brother to big brother. Mikey always used it when he wanted something from him. Leo smiled even if Sam couldn't see. "I'd love to. But after we get out of this place."
"Okay," Sam replied. He was quiet for a moment then his timid voice broke the silence again. "Henry doesn't have time to teach me."
Leo quirked his eye ridge. "I'm sure your brother wants to teach you."
"I hope he will. But he's afraid I might drown. That I might try to swim on my own without his supervision."
It was his turn to be quiet. Part of him knew that Henry made the correct decision, but he knew that he should teach his little brother some skills to be able to survive by himself. Henry and he were doing the same thing: shielding their little brother from the whole world.
But that's not possible.
Leo gave a long exhale at that thought before he replied.
"He's just worried about you. It's not like he doesn't want to teach you."
"Yeah..." He felt Sam buried his face on his shell with a little dissatisfaction. "But you're not worried about your brother as much as he does."
"Huh?"
"At least your brother can swim. I can't do anything, not even getting myself out of the water."
He wondered what Henry did to make his little brother had a little confidence in himself. Leo didn't know him well, so he tried to give a neutral answer.
"That's because we're turtles," He sighed audibly when he thought about Michelangelo. "Mikey's capable of taking care of himself. Well, sometimes, I think."
"But you trust him."
Four powerful words from Sam paused him. Somehow he felt Sam didn't talk about Mikey and him anymore.
"Sam?"
"I wanna be like you..." He whispered, tightened his hold on his neck a bit. "Can you turn me into turtle too?"
"Umm..." This conversation was getting more awkward.
"If I'm like you, I won't be a burden anymore."
Leo was treading water. He needed his mind to focus on their conversation before he went on further. "Sam, don't say that. You brother won't think you're a burden."
"How can you know that? He won't let me do anything. I can't do anything to help him. I'm useless."
The last word came straight from his heart, pouring his emotion out. Sam buried his face on his shell again. He felt the boy needed more than comforting words but he couldn't do much. Leo replied kindly, keeping his voice soft. "I'm speaking from experience. You're never a burden because you're the only family member he has..."
He paused at his own words. That's right. Now I have only one brother…
"Tell me, do you love Henry?"
He felt the boy nodded slowly on his shell.
"Then don't think you're a burden. Everything he did is for your own safety."
"I'll try." Sam murmured "Thanks..."
He remembered the boy's face when he let him help to open the wire door, giving a small compliment. He understood now that the boy was actually glad to be able to help with such a small task. It was something Henry hadn't given to him. The man was older than him, he was already adult, so sometimes he overlooked things his little brother wanted.
They continued in silence until he saw the collapsed tunnel ahead. He swallowed, if it was another dead end then he needed to find another way out. It would take more time to reach his little brother. Sam gasped when he saw a pile of debris blocking their exit.
"No way."
"Sam, I'm going to check underwater. How long can you hold your breath?"
"I don't know..."
"Okay, umm, I don't want to leave you alone so I'm going to dive with you. If you're out of breath just poke me and I'll bring you back to the surface."
The boy was weighing his choices. He didn't want to be alone, but he was also afraid of water. "N-no. You can leave me over there. I can hold onto the wall."
Leo lifted his palm to examine the brick on the wall, then he pulled shuko from his belt, pinning it on the wall. He gestured Sam to raise his hand. "Here, put your hand in it. It'll stick on the wall so you can stay above water. I'll be back."
The boy hanged on the wall, sighing. Leo helped him afloat then hesitantly released him.
"Okay. I'm okay." But his expression told otherwise.
"All right. I'll be back. I promise." Then he disappeared under the water.
Luckily, only the top of the tunnel was collapsed. He saw a hole large enough for both of them to dive through. A blue-green light dimming a few meters from his position. He calculated the distance and raised back to the surface.
"Sam, are you all right?"
"Yeah…" Sam heaved a sigh of relief when he saw him.
"It's only a few second diving until we can get to the other side. Can you hold your breath for that?"
The boy looked uncertain. "Are you sure?"
"Of course," Leo smiled. "Think of it as a basic swimming course. I'm going to show you the first step, okay?"
Sam's expression brightened when he heard it.
"Okay."
"Take a deep breath and hold it. Like this." He demonstrated the technique, inhaled and exhaled slowly. Sam complied with hesitance. Eventually, the boy held his breath and released it slowly.
"That's right" Leo guided him back on his shell, collecting shuko from the wall. "You ready?"
The boy inhaled and held his breath, nodding bravely on his back. This time both of them disappeared underwater. Leo dove further, kicking his legs rapidly until they reached the surface again. Sam coughed a bit, shivering.
"Leonardo?" Sam ducked his head, staring at the shadow above them.
This tunnel was intact, no more collapsing part, and he was right about the intersection. What he didn't expect was clickers on the dry platform. One of them staggered near the waterway, bowing its head down as if to see what was in the water.
It made a clicking sound at them.
He gritted his teeth.
Leo told him not to panic, but who wouldn't? When there were at least five clickers running behind him, you would scream.
"Ahh!"
Yeah, exactly what he was doing in past ten minutes.
"Michelangelo!"
His name seemed too wordy for this type of situation. Next time he would tell Henry just called him 'Mike'. Less syllables, less sounds. Henry was running behind him, making sure no clicker trying to grab them. He reloaded the gun and aimed at them. Mikey thought he had a terrible aim, a few lucky shots hit it in the head, but it was because he was panicked too.
And then he realized they couldn't run forever. The number of stairs and slippery ground slowed them down, while clickers had indefinite stamina. Shell, they didn't eat brains, they didn't eat anything, why did they have so much energy?
Okay, what to do, what to do…
He could do it. He had to fight it. Henry might run out of bullets soon. He could-
He glanced behind his shell. The mushroom face was screaming at him.
…
No way he was going to fight close-range with those rotten mushrooms!
…
Oh. But he could fight while keeping his distance. Yeah, right, he forgot.
…
What should I do!?
The sound of gunshots echoed through the tunnel, attracting more clickers. He had to think fast. But what could he do? He couldn't stop them without killing. And he won't kill humans.
Umm, what's that lesson again? The one that Master Splinter told him before?
'Do not hesitate.'
'We take no pleasure in killing.'
Mikey blinked. That's right. I'm worried too much. It's the same as trashing Footbots. And they're not humans. Not anymore.
He swallowed. Not anymore… But I-I can't-
Leo killed one of them in the sewers to protect you. This is your turn.
Leo…
The thought of his big brother pushed all the reluctance away. If he died here, Leo would be alone. And Henry wouldn't see his little brother again. He stopped running. His eyes turned white. Henry skidded beside him and tried to grab his hand. But he was already gone.
My turn.
In an instant, he had nunchucks in his grip, switching into Kusarigama and twirling the chains. The heavy iron weight winded around the ankle of the nearest opponent. He yanked it and slammed the body into the wall. Not efficient way to stop it, of course, because other clickers were mindless and didn't care if some of them were down. They just kept coming.
He jumped swiftly to the wall, kicking off to the wide space behind the horde. In the mid-air, he threw the sickle at its head. The momentum sent the blade to pierce through its hard fungal plates, something in its head broke giving a sickening splash. The clicker made a sound like it was struggling to breathe, then it collapsed.
He tore the blade back, spinning the chains and wrapped it around the farthest clicker. The moment the chains connected, he gave a forceful yank, bringing it fell backward and rolled back, sweeping the others to the ground. Mikey pulled the chains back and leaped to the wall, spinning and striking the sickle at clickers. A second later he was back beside Henry before the man realized
"Wow," That was all Henry could say.
"I know, I know," Mikey didn't even break a sweat. He said with low voice enough for both of them to hear. "Boo ya. Ka sha."
Leo was kicking his legs underwater, making no sounds as he moved back slowly from the dry platform where the clicker stood. It didn't try to sniff or look at him, only made a clicking sound, trying to find him by using echolocation. Behind him, Sam gulped and tried to shrink himself.
He couldn't get his katana because Sam was on his back. He couldn't fight with the boy clinging to him. But it didn't mean he would give up. Clicker stood still like a sitting duck which gave him a lot of opportunities to kill.
Leo closed his eyes. He had avoided killing. He didn't want to kill humans. He didn't want to take a life if he could help. But if he didn't have a choice...
'Leo! Focus!'
The corner of his lips lifted up at Mikey's words. Yeah, focus on one thing at time: keep the boy safe.
'Aim to kill.'
'We take no pleasure in killing.'
When he opened his eyes again, his pupils were gone, leaving only a frigid white color. Suddenly his right arm tossed above water. Sam gasped when he heard a splash, tightened his arms around his neck as a warning.
But clicker didn't move at all. With a shuriken stuck at its windpipe, it choked a few times before crumbled to the floor.
"W-What was that?" Sam stammered. From his view, it seemed like Leo killed it with mind power.
"It's one of my weapons. Come on, "
Sam climbed up from his shell to the platform, still watching the clicker on the floor with wary eyes. Once Leo climbed after him he pulled shuriken from its throat.
"You… killed it with a tiny metal plate."
Leo chuckled. "Seems that way."
"You are awesome. You gotta tell me how to be like you."
There was a bright light sparkled in Sam's eyes. It sounded like he earned respect from the boy, like how little one looked up at their elder brother. Leo couldn't help but smile. Sam reminded him a lot of his own brother when he showed them difficult moves. Back in the day, those were precious memories he cherished. And he just used one shuriken to impress the boy.
"I think we should start from basic stuff like teaching you how to swim first." He smirked but quickly turned serious when he heard the familiar sound. The katana were in his hands. Clicking sounds could be heard from the stairs above which meant there was more of them. Sam was already behind him, he was used to staying back when adults fought with those things.
When they reached the upper level, Leo could see at least ten clickers staggered around the narrow tunnel. There were tables and shelves and beds. It used to be living place, and people who lived here was somehow still in here, walking senselessly in the shell of their body.
"There're too many. Maybe we should find another way..."
Leo could practically hear a fear from the boy. But he could not back down.
"No. There's no other way. I can do this." The last sentence was meant for himself. He sheathed his katana. There must be a way to fight one on one without attracting the others.
He remembered back when Henry asked him why he didn't kill the guards. The answer was obvious, he didn't want to. But it was not the time to ask whether he wanted or not. He had to do it. Leo slipped Tantō from the hilt of katana into his hand. The opponents, however, did not feel threatened as it couldn't see him in the shadows. Two clickers were standing too close to each other but they hadn't made a sound as if they were tired, asleep, he wasn't sure. There was no way these things still had functions as humans. They were not human anymore.
Don't think they are humans. They are not. That kind of thought will make you hesitated.
He glanced back at the boy who hid behind the wall outside, staring at him the whole time. He turned to focus on the clicker that was standing away from the others. Leo walked stealthily to get behind it, trapped its neck with his arm, and delivered the death blow by slitting its throat.
The arteries were cut. He didn't know this thing still had blood. It made a choking sound which he quickly tightened his hold, lowering the body to the ground quietly. It was slow painful death.
It sounded too human.
He just realized his hands were shaking.
They are not- They are-
He jumped back to the entrance when it gasped loudly for the last breath. A second when others heard the noise they gathered around the fallen one like they were mourning. But he knew it was not that reason. They were searching for the sound. They almost heard him because he was breathing way too hard.
His hand was still shaking. It was Sam who pulled him back behind the wall.
"Are you okay?" He whispered. The boy dared to speak. There must be something very wrong with him because Sam was always careful; the boy wouldn't ask him if there wasn't anything wrong with him. Tantō was still in his hand soaking in infected blood. He needed to get rid of it. He didn't ask Henry if they could get infected just by inhaling the smell of blood. He could ask Sam, but not now. Not until the rest of clickers died.
Leo met his eyes and nodded. Sam released his hand.
"Let's try again," Leo muttered to himself.
Focus. Right.
Frankly, he wasn't scared of them at all. But he was scared that he might get used to this idea, to kill without regret, to kill because he wanted to.
If there're still people inside, then I'm sorry.
Mikey thought that was all of them. Well, he was wrong.
The deeper they went on, the more clickers waiting for them. He just had to go straight from the tunnel to tunnel until they reached the other side. And where was Leo? Would he meet him before they got out of here? What if they were lost?
...Don't think, Mikey. You're never good at it anyway.
He sighed. Well, the only thing he could do was trusting his brother. Leo could find him, he knew it. And he told Leo to focus. So there was nothing to worry about.
He was doing fine with Henry. The man had experience when it came to clickers. Occasionally, he would spot it before Mikey did, telling him to get rid of it quietly since he almost ran out of ammo. Even after he saw how Mikey fought, Henry insisted on staying in front of him protectively. He didn't get it. He could take care of himself, at least he could fight them off without getting bitten. Besides, human body was weaker than him, so he thought he should be a frontline.
No matter how many times he argued, Henry wouldn't listen. He said it was out of habit. At least he could convince him to use 'Mike' instead of his full name 'Michelangelo'. Well, he didn't want to get bitten when Henry was saying his name halfway, 'Michelangelo! Michelange-ack!', or something like that. It would be a dumb way to die, having your name too long to call in urgent.
Another closed door. Henry was checking if there was a trap, while he was finding a button. No buttons for him pressed. Good. That meant no traps. He didn't want another big iron gate fell down to separate them again. He grabbed a doorknob and pushed the door carefully. But the moment he opened it, he set off another alarm. A dozen of glass bottle fell from the box above and shattered loud enough to wake the dead. The shards were scattered on the floor. He gulped. Cursed turtle luck.
"I-I-I..." He was expected Henry to scold him like any brother of him would do when he screwed up. But the man said nothing, looked a bit startled but not angry.
"It's a sound trap."
"R-Really?"
"I think this trap is sorta alarm to warn people here about intruders, not clickers. But it looks like nobody's here anymore."
Henry glanced at the warning on the board. A big 'House Rules' was written on it with details of protocol for entering and leaving the house. So it was definitely someone's home. There was another door on his right and Mikey gladly let him open it. The door was barricaded from the inside, metal was rusty and the wood was rotten, so Henry only had to kick it a few times to open. Mikey had to cover his mouth as the sight of the remains of adults and children at the corner. They were somehow still in human shapes, no sight of infection or growing mushrooms. They died while they were still humans.
"So… a group of people used to live in the entire sewers. Some of them turned into clickers. The rest been hiding in here, waiting for rescue..." Henry turned to search the room. Mikey still couldn't tear his eyes off the remains on the floor.
"Why them…?" He whispered.
"Some people thought they were safe in here. I guess they were wrong." Henry shrugged, but he frowned when he turned back. "Are you okay, Mike? You look a little pale."
Mikey sighed, staring at the floor. "This is… horrible. I'm walking in B-grade zombie movie."
Henry stared at him for a full minute, then his expression softened.
"Nah. You did pretty good back there. You'll be fine." He didn't know why Henry was draping his arm around his shoulder, pulling him close and back to the main tunnel, but he was grateful for that. He didn't have to look at those remains anymore. It was like he was comforting him in some way. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
"My sensei! But I invent some original moves for my special attack too." Mikey beamed at the subject change.
"You have no problem fighting those things at all. I have no doubts you'll find the way to go back to your homeworld in no time."
"Well, actually I have. I'm afraid of them… They look scary. I never fight the opponents that try to chomp a piece of me before." He mumbled, once again being thankful that he wasn't alone. He didn't know if he could fight them alone. "I'm glad I have you, man. I can't pew-pew them like you do. Leo doesn't want me to use guns."
"Guess we make a pretty good team." Henry laughed as they continued to the next tunnel. "Besides, clickers are not something you should be afraid of. It should be humans."
Mikey blinked, not sure if he heard correctly. He remembered Leo also said the same thing but he didn't understand why.
And why he shouldn't be scared of clickers when he heard the clicking sounds again?
They both stopped dead when the sounds coming closer. He stood rooted to the spot, realizing it wasn't his imagination. Henry was the one who dragged him away.
"Ack!"
"Come on, this way!"
He regretted that they didn't run when the alarm set off. Of course, that loud noise attracted clickers. Mikey didn't have to turn around to see how many of them as their clicking, screaming sounds were louder than the last horde.
"There's too many of them. Run!"
Don't be scared, don't be scared, He was chanting inside his head, running side by side with Henry, getting nunchucks in his hands just in case, and hoping he could draw the same strength like he did in previous fight.
Leo snatched a rag from the shelf to wipe the blood off Tantō. He killed all of them one-by-one, they died in silence so they won't attract more clickers. Sam stayed by his side all the time, unfazed by the amount of blood splattering the floor when he slit its throat. Leo wondered if he had seen many horrible deaths in his life that a small number of dead clickers didn't make him scared.
They climbed up to the upper level. A few minutes walk and then they were back to the main tunnel. Leo stopped again to check direction. In this new area, he wasn't sure which way to go.
"You know a lot about this place." Sam's voice came quietly behind him. "Mike said you live in the sewers, right?"
He paused. Okay, since when they were close enough to use nickname? He knew they had talked when they were resting in apartment but he didn't know how much. Maybe a lot. He was busy planning the way out of the city with Henry so he didn't pay an attention. He needed a long talk with Mikey after this. If Mikey already told him about the lair, he might slip other secrets about them too.
He sighed inwardly, realizing his paranoia was working again. It doesn't matter, he thought. This is not our world. So he can know everything about the lair about and yet we're safe. I guess I'll let it go. Maybe Mikey just wants someone to talk to.
Finally, he started walking again. "Yeah. We have the lair under New York city."
"That's so cool. Is it safe?"
It was an odd question coming from the boy, but then again he guessed Sam didn't have the idea of permanent home. Henry and Sam never truly stayed at one place because there wasn't safe.
"Absolutely," He gave the boy a tiny smile. "I think compared to this place, ours is better. We have access to electric and hot water, and my brother set up the security system to protect our home. But I have to say people were doing their best to build home in here." He glanced at washing area on the left with expired detergent bottles.
"So that means you have to hide for something outside too?"
"Umm, yeah, well it's just us. Humans in my world don't have to hide. They can live normally on the surface."
Sam frowned. "You can't do that?"
"Of course. Because we look different...?" He thought the answer was obvious, but Sam shook his head.
"Well, yeah. But you speak, think, and feel like human. You are good person, unlike some bad hunters we fought. If your world doesn't have clickers then it's not fair for you to hide from normal life."
"It doesn't always work that way as long as people still judge on physical appearance."
"Those hunters are humans like us, but they're cruel, heartless monsters. A lot of my friends died because of them." Sam averted his eyes from him. "It's still not fair."
He patted Sam's back gently, expressing his gratitude to him. "It's all right, Sam. We're used to it. It's just something you can't change and you have to accept it eventually, so don't worry."
"You know, I'm not afraid of you. I was surprised to see you this morning but I know you're not one of them. You knocked them out and helped us." Sam said cheerfully. "I was wondering what you are at that time."
Leo laughed a bit. But he paused when he heard faint noises coming from behind. He felt the boy tensed, and instinctively stepped behind his shell.
"Is that Mike's voice?" Sam asked.
Leo sighed with relief, but he definitely needed to talk with Mikey about stealth later. "Yeah."
Around the corner, Leo saw his brother and Henry running to them.
"Sam!" Henry was so excited to see his little brother but didn't stop running. He grabbed the boy and ran. Mikey, on the other hand, ran into him, half hugging and half pushing him to follow Henry.
"Leo! They're chasing after us!"
Oh shell.
The moment Leo started running, Mikey followed him. He couldn't describe how happy he was when he saw his brother, but he would save that moment for a later time. Twenty, no, around thirty clickers were running after them. Screaming and rattling whatever in their mushroom heads to make clicking sounds.
Henry and Sam were running ahead of them, Leo was the third, and he was the last. Dull pain kept coming up from his stupid ankle, telling him to stop. But he couldn't stop. Stupid wound, you are closed wound now. Leo fixed you, remember? So make yourself comfortable and stop nagging me. Just get better already! It's just a simple run. You can do it.
And it replied. No, I can't. I'll let you walk peacefully. I'm generous enough to let you jump around. But not running. You've been running for fifteen minutes now. I will not tolerate this!
SHUT UP I CAN'T STOP NOW.
While Mikey was having a debate with his own ankle, he tripped over the first step of the stair. His plastron smashed at the edge of stair, it hurt so bad he couldn't move.
Oh. OH. This is what I'm thinking about. Cliché in horror movies. This is the way supporting character dies. Wait, I'm supporting character? I'm leading character! I can't die!
He tried to push himself up, but then he saw one of clicker dashing behind him. Mikey got a full sight of its half head, teeth grazing. He didn't have time to scream, too shocked to even make noises.
No, no, no Leo's not being himself so he won't notice I'm still here. Maybe if I pull all my limbs inside the shell they can't bite me…. right? Uh, I don't want to risk myself for that. I don't want to know if turtle shell is mushie-proof or not. I-
Suddenly there was a flash of blue and green and a sound of a blade ringing. Everything happened so fast. He held his breath in awe when he looked up and saw Leo impaled his katana on its chest so hard it staggered backward. He even heard Leo growled at it, wasting no time to kick it off. And when Leo pulled him to stand up, clickers' hands were crawling on his shell and arms but Leo knocked them off single-handedly. Mikey gasped when Leo dragged him to run again.
That was close, yes, but he was safe now.
And he told his closed wound to shut up finally. Everything was good.
Henry opened a door waiting for them, and when they went through he immediately blocked the door with wooden table. It would hold them back but not for long. They ran to upstairs, realizing they were close to the surface and would be out of the sewers in any minute. Finally, Henry and Sam found the exit door in maintenance room but they couldn't open it.
"Damn it! It's stuck!" Henry kicked it but the wooden door didn't budge. Leo jumped across desks and chairs in the room to help to them.
"Let's push it together!"
Mikey rushed to the door and pushed with all his might. It was stuck, but he felt it wasn't because the door was locked.
"Something's behind the door." Henry was still panting from running, trying to find another way to get out.
"I-I can go through that window above the door to push it away. I can help." Sam's voice was low but determined.
The next words from Henry made the boy flinched. "No! You're just a child. You can't do it by yourself."
"Stay back!" Leo told them and drew his double katana out to destroy the door, turning half of it into scraps of wood. Now they could see a large metal cabinet blocking their exit. Henry cursed.
"What the hell!? Why did they block the exit?"
"Let's push again!"
Mikey glanced back at the entrance and started panicking when he heard clicking sounds. Leo looked back at him and decided to switch place, he pulled Mikey close to the man.
"Mikey, go help Henry."
"O-Okay."
They pushed and kicked furiously at the large metal cabinet. It moved, the sunlight beamed into dark room, but the gap was still not wide enough for humans and turtles to go through. Behind him, Leo was slashing those things, holding the horde of clickers back by himself. He turned and leaned his back on the metal cabinet and pushed, so he could keep an eye on his big brother and pushing this thing.
The cabinet creaked, Sam was the first one who went go through the gap despite Henry's protest. The boy tried to clear the obstacle outside as much as possible. It helped to push this thing a little bit easier. His gaze focused on Leo again. Leo turned into a storm of green and red as he danced around slashing and cutting their limbs off. The ground painted in red and black with the falling clickers. He was glad to see Leo back to himself, fighting and moving with unwavering determination. But bloodshed wasn't his thing, and it made him uneasy to witness it, so he kept pushing.
"We got it!" Henry yelled, getting attention from Leo and him.
They pushed the heavy cabinet one last time and dashed through the gap, then they quickly pushed it back to the same position and ran.
"Huh. Fresh air..."
Henry relaxed as they were walking in the forest, far away from the sewers.
"That was close..." Leo exhaled, relieved.
The man stared at Leo for a moment and grinned. "You know, after I saw your little brother saving me back then I don't have to worry about Sam anymore. He's in a good hand."
"Ha! You saw my awesome turtle moves. But it's nothing compared to Leo's skills, right bro?"
"Umm..." Leo looked a bit embarrassed at Mikey's exaggeration. "I just do what I have to."
"Thank you, Leonardo," Henry said sincerely, holding Sam close.
Leo smiled. "Thanks for looking after my brother too. I hope he didn't give you any trouble."
"Hey! Saving life is not a trouble. I did a good deed." Mikey pouted.
"I know."
They continued walking over the hill to the resident area ahead. Mikey looked below to see a set of brown house roofs. He hadn't been out during the daylight much, and if he was he usually saw the tall building in New York, so the view of small town fascinated him.
Mikey glanced back at his brother. Now the nightmare in the sewers was over, he wanted to give him a hug. Actually, he wanted to tell Leo that he argued with his stubborn ankle and won, but that could be told later. Right now he wanted to spend time with his big brother. He missed him. He was glad to have his brother back. Mikey hadn't seen him in hours and now it was almost noon.
Leo raised his eye ridge when Mikey gave him a nudge.
"Hey, Leo." Mikey made a hand framed gesture to the tall radio station far behind the town. "One step closer to the Kraang."
Leo followed his gaze for a moment and saw their destination. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, washing away the dreadful feeling from the situation a moment ago.
"Yeah..."
And Leo did something that made his heart leap, he smiled.
Even if they were tired as hell, there was still a hope. Mikey grinned and put his arm around Leo's shoulder as they began to walk together.
Author's note: Thank you for reading and sorry for long chapter. The length of each chapter is vary, depending on how I want it to end. And this is chapter 9... I think for writing first fanfic I should keep it short. But this is chapter 9 and still ongoing... we're not even on the half way yet omg I'll try to finish it.
I update this chapter when I'm in the hotel. Next week I'll be very busy and I may have to travel, so I'll probably be late for next update.
