I'm probably going to look back on this chapter and hate myself for writing it...I've never taken classes on neurology or cardiology, so I'm not completely sure if I'm medically correct on this, this is based on my own prior knowledge and some light research. XP
Karai gasped as the ceiling crashed down.
Squinting through the cloud of dust that immediately followed soon after, she got to her feet and rushed to Leo. The black-masked turtle was halfway crushed, almost his whole body trapped beneath the rubble. That wasn't what scared Karai the most. Leo's eyes were shut, and he didn't seem to be breathing.
The kunoichi crouched down next to him and tried to come to a decision. Of course, at this point he was completely vulnerable. It would be the perfect time to get revenge. However, one thing stopped her hand. He saved me…even if it meant risking his own life, and even after all that I've done. She pondered for a few more moments, then decided.
"I'm probably going to regret this later…"
She reached for the T-Phone that Leo had dropped earlier, and went to the contacts.
"Hello? Is this Donatello?"
Donatello couldn't believe his ears. The same girl who had caused them so much trouble just a few months ago…and the month before that…and the month before that…had the nerve to call him on his brother's phone.
"What do you want? And why the hell do you have Leo's phone? Oh, and by the way, you have approximately 5 five seconds to answer that before I hang up, so you'd better make this persuading."
"I-I...um….Ugh, let me start over…Are you, by any chance, looking for Leo? 'Cause…um…He's here, at the Foot Clan lair."
Donnie was about to ask if he had been captured under her orders when it hit him. Of course his older brother had tried to go to the Foot Clan lair and get revenge. After trying out different approaches to both answer and seem in control of the situation, he eventually gave up.
"Uhh…Yes-…Wait a minute, are you lying?"
"No! No, I promise, I am absolutely not lying!"
"How can we trust you?"
"Well…you can't, but I'm pretty sure you'll come anyway if I tell you that he seriously needs your help. And I mean, like, SERIOUSLY!"
"Okay, okay. Calm down. I don't trust you, but…well, expect us there in around five minutes."
With that, Donatello promptly hung up.
Karai sighed and put down the T-Phone when she heard a quiet mutter. She turned to Leonardo, who was coughing, but obviously trying to say something.
"L-Leo? What are you trying to say?"
He repeated it, louder this time but still soft enough for her to get worried.
"S-Sorry…about…your father…"
She hesitated, then responded, "It's all right, I know that it wasn't your fault. And besides…whatever fault was yours, it's all paid back now."
The mutant opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by the sudden screeching of tires. Karai immediately got up to meet the other three turtles, but opened the door to be met by the points of Raphael's sais. Snarling, the turtle asked, "Where is he?"
"Uhh…inside…" Without another word, Raph roughly pushed the kunoich aside and ran past, followed quickly by Donatello and Michelangelo.
The genius's eyes widened. "Oh, snap…help me get this off him!"
With everyone's teamed efforts, they managed to get the portion of the ceiling off Leonardo. A few minutes of arguing later, she found herself in the back part of the Shell Raiser, Raph in the driver's seat and grumbling about how they were trusting her to much and that at the first chance she got, she would completely backstab them.
Just a few hours ago, that may have been true, but now, Karai wasn't sure what she would do. Everything was going too fast for her to process. The attack. The fire. Leo's sacrifice….Had it all happened in a matter of hours?
When they arrived near their lair, the first thing Raph did was blindfold Karai and instruct Mikey to take a different route to their destination.
After what seemed like fifteen minutes of winding paths and turns, Karai snapped, "I have no idea where we are, and you might as well just hurry up and take the right way. Because I know that that the route to your lair isn't this long." Mikey immediately got suspicious. That's exactly what somebody who wants to find our lair would say…However, when he looked at the exhausted teen, he decided to follow her advice.
As soon as they arrived, Karai pulled off the blindfold and ran to Donatello's lab. Leo was on the huge lab table, and Donnie and Raph were rushing around the large space. Master Splinter raised an eyebrow at her presence, but nodded when Mikey soon came up behind her.
"Did you find out what the injuries are?" she asked the second youngest. "Yeah, 3 ribs broken, both legs shattered, wrist twisted at a very unnatural angle, and most of the nerves in his right knee and down have been shattered….I don't even know how he's still alive, with that much blood loss, it completely defies all logic and scientific knowledge."
Karai paused, choosing her words carefully. "Can you…can you heal him?" Donatello had a similar pause before answering, "I don't even know if I'll be able to keep his heart going, let along make sure he gets out of this mess with out any permanent damage." His eyes hardened. "But I have to try."
For the next half hour, although the others tried to help the best they could, Donatello did almost all of the work, until there was a point where he shooed everyone out so he could have some quiet in order to complete an operation. During this time, they all sat in silence, until Raphael asked, "So, what happened?"
Michelangelo immediately turned his head towards them, and Splinter leaned in closer. "I…um…" The kunoichi did her best to explain what had happened, then waited for a response.
Karai looked up when she felt Mikey's warm hands enclosing her cold ones, his features forming a small smile. "Hey," he said softly, "It's okay. I'm just glad you called us when that happened." Raph stood up. "Yeah, it's cool, I guess."
She turned around to look at Master Splinter, who gave her a small nod in agreement. Karai smiled, something she didn't remember doing since her father was taken from her. She had made similar expressions, but those were fake smiles that were the result of success, and they didn't count.
Donnie's voice, distorted with fear, ripped through the otherwise undisturbed silence. She burst into the lab, soon followed by the rest of the Hamato Clan. "What is it?"
"His brain is shutting down, I need some help stabilizing it! If we don't get it back to normal now, he could fall into a coma, and I don't have the right materials to help him maintain that kind of health status! I need you to listen…" he began rattling off on some medical supplies he would need.
Karai ran around the room, collecting the items she was in charge of. She placed them carefully on a table, then approached Donnie. "Do you have enough time to answer a quick question?"
He glanced at her, then went back to activating the medical technology. "Okay." "If Leo, by any chance, happens to fall into a coma despite all our efforts…is there any chance he could wake up from it?"
"Well…no one, and I mean no one, has ever managed a self-induced coma before. So, yes, it's possible, but…the chances of that are less than one to a trillion. That's why we can't let that happen." Karai nodded. "Okay."
Eventually, there was another moment of silence, where the only noises were the beeping of machines and scuffling whenever Donnie made any sudden movements. Karai and the others were anxiously sitting in a corner.
Karai looked at the clock, which now showed 2:55. Realizing how late it was, she watched both the heart monitor and the screen that showed brain activity. Although the heart monitor's line looked at least somewhat steady, the brain activity line seemed to be edging towards the top of the screen.
Smiling, the kunoichi pulled her legs to her chest and closed her eyes. He was going to do it. Donnie was going to be able to heal Leo, and Leo was going to be fine. Caught up in the optimistic thoughts, she almost didn't hear the gasp from Donatello. Her eyes shot open, in time to see the scientist fall to his knees, the monitor's line going down with him.
Donatello's sad, brown eyes met her own gold ones and told her all she needed to know.
Karai did another rare action as she ran out of the room, the first tear rolling down her cheek.