Chapter 9: The Story of The Lion

The four turtles fled the frozen field as soon as they regained their energy, and after they had oiled Raphael again, who complained that the snow melting upon his metal body had made him rust again. Michelangelo and Leonardo had learned that The Emerald City they had seen before the spell had taken them was merely an illusion to lure them into the field, so they trekked onwards. Klunk was still very tired, and retook her position on Leo's shoulder.

As they walked together down the road once more, Raph realized how much time they had lost and how dark the sky was getting, so he suggested that they find somewhere to set up camp for the night. They found a nearby stream hidden by bushes that they could rest nearby, and within a few minutes, a steady fire was burning and the turtles sat comfortably around it.

As the silent minutes ticked by, Raph could not help but glance at Leo, who sat with his head on Mikey's shoulder. It had been bothering him that Leo had known about the spell before he did. How could someone know so much about spells if they lived in a forest? No doubt that he must have had a family beforehand, which is most likely where he learned how to fight so well, but magic was a subject only few people ever really learned, due to the fact that only so many could control or perform the mystic arts. Raph himself only learned the spells that he should stay away from or the sings to look for, but he never actually learned how to do them, because as a metal turtle with no heart, it was beyond him.

Curiosity finally got the best of him as he turned to Leo and asked, "Hey, Leo? How did you know that it was a spell that was causing all that back there?"

Leo jolted slightly at the question. "…uhh…I-I studied a lot," he stuttered, "I…um…I read a few books about magic before…"

When Leo suddenly trailed off, Mikey became interested and raised a brow. "Before what?" he asked him.

Leo shrank back, slightly nervous, "…um…before…"

Raph's expression turned sour before he stood up and walked threateningly toward Leo, who yelped as he scooted backwards from him.

"Listen, Leo," he growled, "Don't you go lying to us. We let you tag along 'cause Mikey here feels sorry for you. If you're hiding something from us that we should know about…"

Leo squeezed his eyes shut as he suddenly broke. "OKAY, OKAY!" he yelled, causing the others to jolt backwards in surprise. "The thing is…I studied magic before I decided to live in the forest a few years ago…I never really lived in the forest to begin with."

Raph raised a brow. This was not what he was expecting. He had thought that Leo had been some sort of spy sent by The Wicked Warlock. "What, really? So that whole 'Lion' thing was just made up?"

Leo nodded. "Well…sort of…" he relied sheepishly. All attention was on him now and he did not like it.

Donnie scooted closer to him, his beak nearly touching his face. "So…If you're not a lion, then who are you?" he asked.

Leo looked down and fiddled with the wrappings on his hands, scooting away slightly from how close Donnie's face was to his own.

Mikey put a hand on his shoulder, causing his eyes to snap up to his sincere baby blue ones. "Dude, you can tell us. We won't tell anyone else, and we won't be mad at you. Okay?" he reassured.

Leo let out a sigh in defeat. It was only right that he shared his true past with them. If he was to finally fully earn Raphael's trust. After all, Raph had shared his dark past with the rest of them, why should he not? "…alright," Leo began, "The truth is…the truth is I am of royal descent."

Raph's eyes widened. "Wait…are you telling me you're a Prince?!" he barked.

Leo nodded sadly, "sort of. I was adopted by him when I was five, after my parents were killed in a fire…made by those things…The headman of that Village took pity on me…his name was Miyamoto Usagi."

Raph's jaw dropped to the floor in utter disbelief.

Mikey and Donnie, oblivious to what Raph was so amazed about, shared a confused look. "Who's that guy?" Mikey asked.

"Only the greatest swordsman in the history of Oz!" Raph replied in awe, "He was a Rabbit Samurai who fought in The Great Oz War before The Warlock took control a few years back. His name is freaking legendary! How the heck did someone like you come across him?!"

Leo shrugged, "I don't know. He always said he saw something in me. A true, warrior spirit, he said. So, when one of the villgers saw me passed out on the roadside one rainy night, they took me inside to their headman. He took one look at me, and he decided he would take care of me in and raise me as his son…and his finest pupil. He taught me the ways of the Ninja, despite being of Samurai descent. He taught me everything I know about magic, spells, everything. He was like a father to me…" he paused as he cast a glance at Raph, "…sounds familiar?"

Raph's expression turned hard, not in anger, but in solid agreement.

Leo continued. "He told me I was his greatest pupil, that I possessed the strength and will of a thousand soldiers…and the bravery of a Lion. So it was then that he took me into one of the sacred shrines in the village, and bestowed me with the power and strength of the great beast, and gave me my new name; Leonardo. I'll never forget that day, for as long as I lived…But he also told me that once I had that power, I had to learn to control it."

Mikey raised a brow, "Control it?" he asked.

Leo nodded, "During my early stages of training, I had a tendency to lose my temper a lot, or go too far. After I became bestowed with the power of The Lion, I was told that it could sometimes have a mind of its own, and it could try to even take control of me using the power of my inner fears or emotions, so I worked harder to contain it. And it worked…for a little while.

"One time I was sparring with my sensei, and all of a sudden, a memory flashed before my eyes…I saw those creatures again, burning down and destroying everything…my family…and I just felt this anger rising up within me. I couldn't save my family that day because I wasn't strong enough. I was heartbroken…and I was so angry…so I just lost it. I let the lion take over me and I attacked him as if he were the creature that took them from me. Only when he had to knock me to the ground did I snap out of it and realize what I had almost done…

"I started crying then, telling him how sorry I was and begging him for forgiveness. He just hugged me and told me he understood what I was going through, and he forgave me. But he told me to promise him that I would find a way to control my anger. I swore to him I would, and within three years, I managed to hide my rage and keep it locked down deep inside me. And he was always there to guide me every step of the way…"

"…I'm guessing something happened to him." Raph said softly.

"Worse," Leo replied darkly, "Usagi and I were just returning from another training exercise, when out of nowhere, The Shredder appeared before us. At the time, I was only thirteen, so none of this stuff really made sense to me back then, but he wanted to challenge my sensei to claim some kind of, 'Sacred Crimson Orb' or something that he was sure he had."

Mikey gasped softly in alarm. "That's the same thing that Glinda April told me I had!" he thought, but he chose to say nothing for now as Leo continued.

"So, we fought each other. They were both masters of martial arts, and they were both very powerful. But I had total faith in that Usagi and I would win together, because I always believed that my sensei was invincible. But Shredder had one thing that neither of us ever had…"

"Magic?" Mikey assumed.

"Not just magic…Black Magic," he spat out the word as if it were a poison. "He used it against my sensei to weaken him until he could no longer stand. I could do nothing but watch as he…" his breath hitched and his eyes grew wide in fear of the memory. "…he used his black magic to rip his chest open."

Mikey and Donnie gasped in horror. Raph looked to the side.

Leo squeezed his eyes shut as tears streamed down his face as the memory ripped through him like a knife. "…he didn't find what he wanted, so he just dropped his body to the floor. I-I never saw so much blood in my life…I couldn't hold it back any longer, so I just grabbed my swords and attacked him, letting the lion take over me again, screaming and cursing him all the while. He beat me easily and held a knife to my throat. He said that I had impressive skills, and if I joined him in his army, I would be spared. I told him to burn in hell and kicked him away from me.

"I turned and ran as fast and as far as I could. Eventually, I lost him when I reached the forest and hid in a large rabbit hole. I just sat in there and cried for what felt like hours. I lost my family, I lost my sensei…and I lost my nerve.

"What he did to Usagi, and what I had wanted to do to The Shredder, terrified me to the point where I became afraid of myself. I felt as if my rage and grief would drive me mad to the point where I would want to destroy everything, and everyone, in my path. So I told myself I would never leave the forest again, never interact with anyone or anything ever again, and trust nothing and no one. Eventually, that distrust turned into fear. And that fear turned into paranoia.

"I kept convincing myself that everything was out to get me, as if the very trees were The Shredder in disguise, watching me and taunting me over my weakness and failures. And every time I saw a rabbit…It was like Usagi was watching me, haunting and hating me for not being able to do anything to save him…"

He suddenly stood up, tears now dripping down his cheeks. "That's why I am who you see before you! That's why I named myself Okubyomono, because I was too much of a helpless coward to save my dead family, or even bury my fathers' corpse!"

With that, he turned and ran from the group.

Mikey leapt up to his feet, "Leo! Wait!" he called and ran after him.

"Mikey, wait! Just leave him alone, he needs to be alone right now!" Raph called after him.

Mikey shot a glance at him, "My brother needs me, I'm not just gonna sit around and let him hurt!" he shouted over his shoulder as he carried on after the distraught Leonardo.

Raph stopped short and stared at his retreating form. "...did he say his brother?"

Donnie felt quite helpless as he sat there with his knees tucked into him and his head resting on his folded arms. He had no brain, so he had no idea how to fix any of this, and it hurt him. He could only hope that Mikey would know what do.

Mikey briefly lost sight of Leo when they had reached a field of tall, thick brightly coloured flowers that seemed to glow as they stretched up into the sky. Mikey stopped for a moment to take it all in. "Whoa...these are some tall flowers..." he breathed.

A loud cry snapped him out of his thoughts as one of the towering flower trees suddenly began to tilt and fall to the ground with a loud thud. Mikey let out a short gasp as he pushed his way through the Flower Trees.

That was Leo who cried out, but it did not sound afraid...it sounded angry...full of anguish and uncontrolled fury.

"Leo! Leo, where are you?!" he called, but he was only answered by another furious cry, and another falling Flower Tree that Mikey was barely able to roll out of the way of, but luckily, his ninja instincts took over before he could be crushed to a green pulp.

He looked up from where he lay sprawled out on the grass, and his eyes widened in shock.

Leo was no longer the scared helpless turtle he found in the woods the other day. He now held both katanas in his hands and was slicing furiously at the thick stems of the giant flowers, his sharp blades cutting through them with ease and without mercy. His eyes were no longer full of fear – they were full of malice and unrestrained rage.

"Whoa, dude! Leo, stop!" Mikey called, rushing toward him to put a stop to his madness. A scared Leonardo made Mikey feel helpless and afraid. An enraged Leonardo terrified him to the very core.

"Leo, stop!" he cried again, putting a hand on his shoulder. Leo suddenly snapped his head around and snarled viciously at Mikey.

Mikey leapt back in fear with a loud yelp. There was no trace of his older brother left in his eyes. Instead of ocean blue, his eyes had turned a dangerous shade of red, and his teeth had sharpened to fangs as he growled at him like a feral animal.

Mikey had never seen Leonardo this angry before, be it from this world, or the world he longed so desperately to return to. Was this the power that he had been bestowed with? Or was this simply a dramatic image to show him what his Leonardo felt all the time…?

Mikey swallowed his fear and took a step forward. "Leo...bro...It's me, Mikey." He soothed. He knew that no matter what mood Leo was in, he would never even think of hurting him or any member of his family…or at least he hoped. Now that he had seen this animalistic side of him, he was no longer sure.

However, his fears were slightly put to rest as he watched recognition began to dawn in Leo's eyes, his stance and posture beginning to relax and uncurl.

"It's okay, big brother. Everything's gonna be okay..." Mikey said gently as he neared him, a soft three fingered hand reaching out slowly to him and resting onto his shoulder.

Leonardo blinked several times as his teeth became blunted again and his eyes returned to their normal azure hue.

"...Mikey?" He mumbled. Leo looked down at his hands, and his expression turned horrified when he saw his twin blades in his grip. The pieces began to come together as he looked up to the younger turtle. "...M-Mikey...did I...?"

Mikey realized what this must have looked like to him, and he quickly tried to reassure him, "No! No, no, Leo! You didn't hurt me...but you messed up those giant flower things, though..."

"Wha - ?" Leo spun around and gazed upon the destruction he had caused. He had done it again. He had lost control. His breathing became quick as he dropped his swords and sank to his hands and knees. "M-Mikey...It happened again...I-I lost control again...I..." he stuttered, his voice quivering as his body trembled with fear.

Mikey wasted no time in running over and wrapping his arms tightly around Leo, bringing his head to his chest. "Now I understand, Leo," Mikey said softly, "You're not afraid of everything. You're afraid of destroying everything. You've held this thing in for so long and it's jacking you up, man. You're only afraid of your anger...because when you get angry or sad, you can't control it..."

Leo clung desperately to Mikey as tears dripped down his face. "You don't have to worry, bro," Mikey soothed, "I'll help you get through this. I promise I'll make that Wizard guy give you the courage and strength you need to carry on...and just like I said to Raph, I'm not leaving until you get your wishes. I promise."

Leo sniffed. "...thank you, Mikey..." he murmured into his chest.

Mikey held Leo tighter, just as the Leo from his world would have done when he was upset or scared.

"No problem…big brother..."

A/N: Sorry for the long delay, I had almost given up on this because no one was reading it...luckily, two comments from a very nice person (or people) saved the day! Thanks for reading, and I know this is only short, but there are more chapters to come!