CHAPTER 21: PEACE OFFERINGS
Raphael gets hypnotized and Leonardo gets an unexpected gift.
Raphael relaxed fully, his body still too exhausted from their grueling morning workout to fidget. Splinter had decided that hypnosis would be the quickest way to access what they needed in Raphael's subconscious. They sat in the dojo together in front of the tree, Raphael listening to the low murmuring voice of his Sensei until he lost himself.
Splinter regressed him back to when he had switched bodies, asking him questions about his surroundings. Then he asked Raphael to dig deeper, to remember the mundane daily routine of the Technodrome and it's layout. It took some time but Raphael tapped into the collective consciousness that he had stored away deep within his mind. Having had no personal experience to speak from with that information, he switched to the dispassionate third person speech of the Kraang to answer Splinter's questions.
It shot a cool chill all the way down Splinter's spine to the tip his tail. When he had first seen Raphael in that state, tied up and inhabited by one of those sinister little creatures, he had feared his son would be forever lost to him. Unnerved, he brought Raphael out of the trance, asking him to carry over all memories about the Technodrome back with him to his conscious mind.
Raphael came to holding his father's hands. He had a sick, dizzy feeling in his stomach and a slight headache.
"Did it work?" Raphael asked.
"I believe so," Splinter answered, relief coursing through him. "Go to your brothers, look through the maps. It should all come to you."
"Hai, Sensei."
Raphael padded down the hall and into the common area, feeling jittery. Michelangelo, Casey and April were playing Risk in the pit.
"Hah!" Casey yelled. "I've got all of your countries now. I own you!"
"Raaaph, your girlfriend's evil," whined Michelangelo. "April, avenge the great empire of Miketopia."
Raphael rolled his eyes as the three of them laughed.
April's phone rang and she shushed them, passing the phone to Casey. "Mr Murakami? Oh. Sure I can come by and pick it up. Might as well do up six orders of pizza gyoza. Thanks." He hung up and passed the phone back to April. "Mr Murakami said someone left a message there for you guys."
"It might be a trap," Raphael said worriedly.
"He didn't use any of the code words," Casey answered.
"Mikey, wanna shadow us?" April asked.
"Yes! Can I carry the food home?"
"No way, you'll eat it all on the way back."
Michelangelo made a face to show how hurt he was that she would ever suspect something so terrible from him. Then they both started giggling and headed out.
Casey went to Raphael, sensing his mood. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I just became one with the universe or something and I need to shake it off," he answered. "Don and Leo in the lab or the garage?"
"Lab." Casey shot him a coy smile before quickly raising up on his toes to plant a solid kiss on his mouth, doing nothing to help steady Raphael's dizziness. "See you later."
Then Casey had whirled away, running off to catch up with April and Michelangelo. Raphael shook his head and tried to get it together, reminding himself not to be grinning like an idiot when he joined his brothers in the lab.
"I think I can label your drawings," Raphael said, trying to make a peace offering.
Donatello silently spread out the specs for the Technodrome, and the more Raphael wrote and talked about it, the more he remembered. They asked him questions, and the three of them managed to have a civil conversation about the best ways to destroy their enemy.
Eventually the others returned and the irresistible scent of pizza gyoza pulled them into the common area. The six of them talked and laughed and watched a movie, the tension between brothers finally abating.
When Leonardo got up to go to the kitchen, April followed him, making sure the others were too engrossed with the movie to interrupt them.
"Leo?" she said quietly.
He gave her a sideways glance as he poured a glass of water for himself.
"This was left at Murakami's for you." She pulled a small, plain white envelope out from her jeans pocket.
"How do you know it's for me?" he asked.
She turned it over. It was sealed with the symbol for the Foot in red wax.
Leonardo's eyes widened. "Thank you for your discretion."
He said it almost formally, and April had to stifle back a giggle. "No problem. Be careful, okay?"
He gave her a silent nod, checking on his brothers positions in the living room.
"Oh, and Leo? I know this morning was a giant mess, but it was really sweet of you to defend me. Thanks."
He smiled and retreated from the kitchen, hands shaking as he sought the privacy of the dojo. He opened the envelope and read the few words scrawled across the small page of stationary. Meet me at the church, 1am. Alone.
ooooooo
Leonardo scaled the chapel and carefully navigated the sharp peaks. There was no one on the roof. He glanced over to the nearby docks and shuddered as he remembered how Rahzar had so easily snuck up on all of them. He remained calm, sweeping the roof for any sign of a trap. Nothing. Then he inspected the streets below, the closest buildings, the parking lot. He crouched down and let out a long breath. In the far back corner of the parking lot, almost completely cloaked in the darkness, a familiar white cargo van was parked.
His heart sped up, unsure whether to be excited or terrified. He took a deep breath and plunged back down into the darkness, landing silently on the concrete. He approached the van slowly and cautiously, remaining hidden in the shadows. He heard Karai sigh and shift her weight. She was perched on top of the van.
"I know you're there, Leonardo. I'm alone."
Suddenly he was there beside the van, looking up at her indignantly. "You heard me?"
"No. It's 1:06 and you're never late."
He snorted back a laugh. He could barely make out her black-clad form against the shadow, only her Cheshire cat smile and the glint of her earrings giving her away. His face turned serious, remembering her hurtful words that had felt like a cold knife in his chest.
"What do you want, Karai?"
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice lilting playfully.
"I want us all to live through my next mission," he answered solemnly.
"Stopping the invasion?"
"No," he said, smiling at the sheer impossibility of his task. "We can't stop it. We are going to delay it. We are going to march into their underwater lair, wreck their portals, steal a priceless alien artifact that may or may not even be there, then march right back out. Easy, right? Are you going to go warn them now?"
"No. Catch." Metal glinted as it flew through the air towards him and he caught it one-handed. Keys. "I brought you a present. Unwrap it."
Leonardo went to the back of the van and unlocked the door, half expecting Fish Face to jump out and bite him as soon as he opened it. Instead he found a wooden crate and stacked rows of black rectangular bars with military stamps. "What…what is this?" he asked.
She jumped down beside him and grinned. "Military grade C-4," she said with a shrug, feigning boredom.
"Where did you get all this?" he asked in wonderment. His self-defeating angst was quickly melting away.
"I bought it. With my own money and everything. It's completely on the up and up. I mean, if you don't count that it came from a black market weapon's dealer."
"This…this is amazing!" Leonardo exclaimed, a huge grin breaking out over his face.
She had never seen anyone look so happy in her life. "Boys and their high explosives," she said dryly, smirking.
He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders and looked straight into her startled eyes. "Thank you," he said as he pulled her in and hugged her, hoping she wouldn't stab him in the throat. Then his brow furrowed and he pulled away, looking at her face again. "What happened?"
Karai pulled away from his touch and crossed her arms over her chest defensively, not remembering the last time anyone had hugged her. He kept staring and she self-consciously ran her fingertips over the bruises she sported along the left side of her jaw.
"Who did that to you?" he asked, his voice dark suddenly.
"You did," she snapped. "What do you think happens to me when I fail my missions? When you steal my entire weapons shipment? When I let you go…"
"Don't put that on me! You could leave, be with your real clan. Help us fight the Kraang."
She gestured to her gift. "This is me helping you fight the Kraang. I cannot leave the Foot."
Leonardo sighed and rubbed his face, leaning back against the van.
"What is wrong with you today?" Karai asked curiously. "You're not usually so candid since you're too busy trying to show off or convince me that you are a better ninja."
"I guess the high odds of immanent death bring it out in me. That and my brothers are driving me nuts," he admitted.
"I can kill one or two of them for you if you like," she offered with a mischievous smile.
"That's not even funny," he huffed into his palm, trying to smother a morbid laugh. He shook his head and closed the white doors.
"Keep it," she said, gesturing to the vehicle.
"I really do appreciate this, Karai," he said, suddenly shy and nervous, eyes everywhere but on her. "Sorry I hugged you."
A predatory smile spread slowly across Karai's lips. "You better be," she said in a low voice, stepping up to him.
His blue eyes widened in panic and his shell clunked against the van. She took hold of the top ridge of his plastron and pulled him into her, his lips trying to form words even as hers covered them. He gave in and decided that he must be dreaming; that, or Karai really had lured him there to kill him. She was rough, bullying his lips into whatever position she wished, then nipping lightly with her teeth before pulling away. He waited for the knife to come, and didn't even care at that moment he was so elated.
"Don't die, freak," she said tauntingly.
The next second he was alone, panting against a van full of explosives in a church parking lot. He could only commend her on her 'ninja vanish' technique. Or maybe he had hyperventilated and lost consciousness briefly. Either way, he was impressed.
ooooooo
"Donnie, wake up."
Donatello slowly regained awareness as one of his brothers shook him gently and whispered urgently near his ear. "Don."
"Leo?" he asked groggily.
"Shh. Get up, come with me. It's Christmas morning, brother," he said excitedly.
Donatello squinted into the dark, trying to figure out if Leonardo was sleep walking. He sat up and Leonardo tugged at his arm. "What are you doing?" Donatello asked, finally getting up and letting his brother lead him out towards the tunnels.
Leonardo was brimming with manic energy, a huge smile on his face.
"Were you drugged?"
"Quiet, just follow me. Garage. Trust me."
By now, Donatello was starting to wake up, the two of them navigating the wrecked tracks. His curiosity was peaked. Leonardo wasn't one for late night conspiracies. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the white cargo van that they had stolen and returned to the Foot. "What did you do?"
"Karai asked me to meet her tonight. She said she wanted to help but couldn't leave the Foot so she gave this to us."
Donatello was having a hard time following his giddy brother. "A crappy van?"
"Look inside. Donnie, I think she likes me. She could have killed me like, ten times tonight, and she didn't even try."
Donatello quirked an eye ridge up. "Then it must be true love," he said sarcastically. Except Leonardo couldn't stop smiling and was getting impatient for him to check the cargo. He wondered if he would be able to get Leonardo to sit still long enough to take blood from him and check for foreign substances. Then he opened the doors and saw the beautiful sight of enough plastic explosives to level a city block. "Oh. Oh, my," he said appreciatively. It really was Christmas in July. "This changes everything."
Leonardo smiled his I-told-you-so smile. "I have a bold and daring plan."