Chapter Twelve
Leonardo slammed shell-first into an open dumpster. Dust plumed around him, and pain erupted throughout his body. He cried out into the night. Moving his elbows back, he attempted to pull himself into a sitting position. He tried to push up on his arms, but he couldn't.
His head flopped back, and he lay amidst the trash. His limbs tingled like they had fallen asleep and were slowly waking up to a blanket of pins and needles. His plastron throbbed. He scrunched up his eyes, pushing his mind to enter into zazen. He tried to count his breath, but numbers ceased to make sense in his clouded mind. Leonardo moaned.
"Keizoku wa chikara nari," came the whisper. "Continuance also is power."
Leonardo closed his eyes. "Kaeru no ko wa kaeru," he replied. "Child of a frog is a frog. I should have known what to expect from the daughter of the Shredder."
A slender sillhouette vaulted through the air and landed in a crouch at Leonardo's feet. Her arms rested on her knees. "I never wanted to hurt you, Leonardo."
Leonardo glared at Karai. "You used the shell cell I gave you against me and my family," he snarled. "You did this with good intentions?"
Karai hung her head. "My father discovered the shell cell while I was recovering from our encounter with Koga Arata. Dr. Stockman used it to create a tracking device. That is how your brothers were ambushed."
"And you wouldn't stop him," Leonardo said through gritted teeth.
She shook her head. "How could I? He is my father. But I called on you tonight to make sure that you would be safe."
Leonardo closed his eyes again, pain pulsing through his frame. "You hurt my brothers, Karai. I was a fool to trust you, but never again. Fukusui bon ni kaerazu. Spilt water will not return to the tray." He opened his eyes. Baring the palm of his hand, he said, "Give me your shell cell."
Sighing, Karai retrieved the device from her belt. She dropped it in Leonardo's hand and folded his fingers around it. "I am sorry, Leonardo." She turned and leapt into the darkness.
Leonardo's head sunk deeper into the trash. His eyelids fluttered shut, and he gave into his desire to slip away in sleep. Heavy footsteps awoke him.
"Leo!" Raphael hollered. "LEO!"
"I'm in here," Leonardo murmured.
The footsteps grew louder and louder. Moments later, Raphael dropped into the dumpster beside him. His face paled. Swallowing hard, he asked, "Now do you think you should go home?"
"Okay, Raph," Leonardo conceded. "You win."
