Hello lovely readers! How are y'all? Sorry for the short chapter last time, but I don't write to reach a word quota; I write to make a story and if the story requires a short chapter that's what's going to happen. That being said, this chapter is going to have a lot of important stuff in it, and I think it is the longest chapter I've ever written. Thanks for all the awesome reviews! Y'all are the best! Enjoy the chapter and have a great day!
The Kraang cackled on the screen, and I growled lowly. Master Splinter put a furry paw on my shoulder and whispered a warning in my ear. The clone wriggled desperately in the High Kraang's grasp, and he looked at us desperately. A squishy tentacle was wrapped around his mouth, stopping him from speaking. The Kraang shook the vial and smiled maliciously at us.
"I see you have found your brother, or have you? I don't think you all truly know. The genius, I know from the look on his face, is unsure himself. Well, my friend and I have decided to play a little game. You might know my new friend; I hear your master actually knows him quite well," the Kraang squawked.
He beckoned with a long, pink tentacle at someone or something off screen. I saw the metal gauntlet before the rest of the gleaming silver armor came into view, and my heart dropped into my stomach. Master Splinter narrowed his eyes next to me, and Mikey laid a hand on Leo's sleeping form as if to protect him from his evil ex-captor.
"Hello turtles," spat the Shredder, his eyes gleaming under his helmet, "and Yoshi. I'm glad to see that your son is a bit incapacitated for the moment. I'm sure it's most difficult for you."
"Shut up! You made him that way!" I yelled, stupidly, at the Shredder.
Donnie looked at me as if I was the biggest idiot on the planet.
"Thanks for stating the obvious, Raph. I'm sure that really hurt his feelings," he muttered, his voice dripping in sarcasm.
I clenched my fists by my sides but bit my tongue. I had deserved that, and I couldn't afford to make a bad situation worse. The Kraang hissed and wriggled his tentacles.
"I'm sure you're all wondering what's in this vial," the Kraang laughed, waving the small glass around the screen dizzyingly, "Well, it's part of our game."
"You see, we know that you don't know which Leonardo you have. He knows which one he is, but you can't wake up that one to ask him anymore and this one," said the Shredder, gesturing towards the struggling clone, or what I think was the clone, "believes he is Leonardo. I dare say, it is confusing. However, the game is this-"
"You have to choose! Which Leonardo is the real Leonardo? If you choose the one with you, we will give you this little vial which is the antidote to the poison that is currently coursing through him," cried the Kraang gleefully.
Donnie's eyes widened, and he stared at Leo and then back to the Kraang with disbelief written across his face. I stood dumbstruck and merely stared at the projection on the wall.
"However, if you choose this Leonardo, then we will hand him over to you. No fuss, no traps, nothing. Keep in mind that whichever one you choose will die. You have approximately one hour until the poison overtakes the one with you, so I would choose quickly. Have fun turtles; we'll check back in in fifty minutes, and you better have an answer ready or else they both die," intoned the Shredder.
The screen went blank and the projector thing hissed and switched off. I turned and stared at my family. Donnie was frantically going through his drug cabinet searching for something that could wake Leo up or give an indication as to what he had been drugged with. Sensei was pinching the bridge of his snout and wincing, clearly in deep thought, and Mikey and April were hovering over Leo in disbelief. I wanted to cry. I wanted this madness to end, but it just wouldn't. I couldn't cry or complain or punch something though because my family needed someone to lead them, and that someone was me.
"Okay, someone set a timer for fifty minutes now," I instructed before turning to look at Donnie, "and, I want you to do whatever the heck it is you do to try and figure out what they drugged Leo with. Master Splinter, if you could, please try and contact Leo in the Spirit realm. Mikey, what the shell are you doing just standing there? Go write down everything you can remember this Leo doing from when we saw him in the window at Foot HQ to now. April, help Don. I'll be with Mikey if anyone needs me. We have fifty minutes to save Leo, no one screw up."
With that, I turned and stalked out of the lab, leaving my shocked family behind me. I walked to where Mikey was sitting at the kitchen table, paper and pen in hand. I sat down next to him heavily and let out a long sigh. I was fuming, there wasn't even a word for how angry I was but if I made Mikey upset I would waste time, time that Leo didn't have.
"Okay, so what do we have?" I asked slowly.
He pushed a piece of paper covered in intelligible scribbles and what looked like a picture of Leo tied to a chair. He looked at me expectantly.
"This is all I could come up with in the two minutes since I started," he said.
"Mikey, I can't read this," I growled in annoyance.
"That's okay, I can! We'll figure this out, Raph," he chirped, smiling at me.
"I hope so. Let's get to work. So, we saw Leo, and he really seemed like our Leo, in the window at Foot HQ," I replied, dismissing the thoughts plaguing me saying I would fail.
"I'm sure it was him," added Mikey.
"So did they switch the Leos while he was being held there?" I asked.
"I don't know!" Mikey exclaimed.
"He seemed like Leo when we were coming back, and when I was breaking him out, but nothing extremely characteristic of Leo," I muttered.
"He was too out of it to do anything when he came back…," Mikey trailed off, "Hold on! I asked him all those questions! He knew the answer to every one!"
"Ya, but those we're all things even the clone would know, Mikey. However, he did seem surprised by the interrogation. The clone would have understood, maybe? I think he would have understood why you were doing that," I replied.
I chewed my lip, and thought hard. Leo, my Leo, had been in the Foot HQ two days ago, of this I was sure. That was the only thing we knew for sure. Sometime in between Mikey and I had seen him and I had gone to get him, he had either been injected with poison or switched with another clone. I thought back to when we were in the cell. The clone had had absolutely no training and had been clumsy. The Leo in the cell had been able to fight, injured, sick, and poisoned. The clone probably would not have picked up on my plan or been able to hold his own for long enough for us to escape. I didn't remember the clone being strong enough to do that, he had been weak and crying for Donnie half the time.
On the way back he had been concerned about me, rather than about himself. That was a Leo thing to do, but at the same time the clone was like that too. I glanced at the clock in the kitchen. We had thirty minutes to make a decision. Thirty minutes to save or destroy my brother. Suddenly, I remembered what Donnie had said about the clones having short life spans. If we did choose the wrong Leo, we wouldn't even have a shadow of Leo for very long. We would be left with nothing.
I felt as if the wait of the world had just been lowered onto my shell and I lowered my head into my hands.
"Raphie, it'll be okay. This nightmare will be over soon," Mikey murmured lowly.
I rolled my eyes at the use of the stupid nick name, but I could tell that Mikey needed to believe the words he told me just as much as I needed to believe them, if not more, so I held my tongue. Mikey and I sat in silence, deep in thought until I glanced at the clock and realized ten minutes had passed. Twenty minutes to save my brother. I rose from the table quickly and grabbed Mikey by the hand, dragging him into the lab.
"Donnie! Tell me you've got something," I commanded, bursting through the door.
April looked up in surprise, but quickly recovered. Donnie was peering intently into a microscope, and he hadn't noticed our entrance at all. Master Splinter was nowhere to be seen, and Leo's too- still form lay on the bed.
"Do you guys have anything?" I repeated.
April shook her head sadly. Mikey whimpered behind me, and I stormed out of the room leaving my bewildered siblings behind. I marched into Master Splinter's room, pausing only for a moment to knock on the door and give him a bit of a warning. Master Splinter was sitting in the middle of his room, incense and candles burning, in deep meditation. His tail and ears twitched as I entered, and suddenly his eyes flew open and flicked up to me.
"Raphael. What do you need, my son?" he asked quickly.
He seemed distracted, and extremely distressed. It was shocking to see Master Splinter like this, but he quickly hid his true feelings beneath a façade of calm and authority. I bowed my head to him and continued into the room while speaking. As I addressed him, I couldn't help but think of the times when we had been in here together talking to a brother who wasn't really there. Now he was here, but I couldn't talk to him. I don't know what I did to the world to make it hate me, but I was ready to apologize if it meant my family would be okay.
"Sensei, have you found him or talked to him or made contact or anything?" I asked, stumbling over my words because of my lack of knowledge about the spiritual plane.
"Raphael, these things take time, but no, I have not found any sign of your brother," he said heavily.
"Master, we need your help. I don't know what to do, and we don't know who's who and we need your guidance. We're getting down to the wire," I cried in exasperation.
"Raphael, I will remind you to keep your temper in check. However, I know you need my help. I am of no help here, let us go to your brother's lab," he said, rising to leave.
"Master Splinter?" I called uncertainly.
"Yes, Raphael?"
"What if we guess wrong?"
"We won't. We will know we are right," he replied with certainty.
"How can you know? How will we know?" I asked.
"You will know," he said, but as he turned away I saw the worry in his eyes.
All the reassurance he had given me in the past minutes fell away as I realized that he was just as scared and uncertain as I was. He was at risk of losing another child, but he had to stay strong to protect and help the others. I followed him out of his room and into the Lair with a sinking heart. I glanced at the clock.
Ten Minutes.
I picked up my pace and hurried into the lab past my father. Donnie and April had left the microscope and were sitting next to Leo talking lowly. Mikey was nowhere to be seen, but I could hear muffled movements from the kitchen. Master Splinter and I approached Leo's still body on the cot quickly, and Master Splinter laid a hand on his head.
"Donnie, did ya find anything?" I asked.
"There's a weird compound in his blood but I'd need at least two days to analyze it and come up with an antidote since I have no clue what it is. Our best bet now is to do just what they want us to; we have to choose," he murmured sadly.
I stared at him. Donnie hadn't found anything. I had placed all my hoped in him being able to wake up Leo and having this be done. Master Splinter sighed.
"Go fetch Michelangelo. We have much to discuss in little time," he intoned, turning towards April.
She took off to find Mikey while Donnie and I looked at Sensei expectantly. Donnie, for once in his life, looked like he was at a loss for words and out of ideas. I hoped I would never see him like that again. He looked utterly defeated. I looked away from him and my gaze fell upon the deathly pale form of my brother or brother's clone. Something in my gut was telling me that it was him, my real brother, but my head wasn't so sure, and I couldn't call the shots here. It had to be a unanimous decision, and I was too scared to voice my opinion.
April and Mikey came back in and Mike stared us down with the eyes of someone who grew up too fast. I clenched my fists, and vowed, once again, that the Shredder and the Kraang were going to pay for putting my family through this, but first we had to save Leo. I turned and faced Master Splinter who was looking at Mikey and I expectantly. That's when I realized we were the ones everyone believed had solved the problem since we had talked about it for so long. Mikey glanced at me and gulped nervously. I groaned inside; I didn't want to explain this.
"Raphael," Master Splinter urged.
His words from earlier echoed in my head. I looked at the prone form of my brother, and I was surprised as I realized that despite all of the facts and speculation I had been presented with, I still thought of this one as my brother.
"I think this one is Leo," I said strongly, hiding my misgivings.
"Why?" asked Donnie in confusion.
"I have a feeling," I replied, realizing how weak that sounded.
"A feeling? You're prepared to stake our brother's life on a feeling?" Donnie cried.
"Yes!" I growled back.
"That's ridiculous!"
"It's all we have!" Mikey cried suddenly throwing his hands in the air, "We don't have any solid evidence, proof, signs, or anything that this is really Leo except for a gut feeling Raph has and in all honesty I have it too. I think this is our brother. I could be wrong, and that'd be horrible, but we don't have a choice."
Master Splinter looked on in approval, and April hung her head to hide the smirk playing across her face at Donnie's reprimand. Mikey and I both stared Donnie down, daring him to challenge us.
"Okay, then. Let's say this isn't Leo and we choose him. What will we do then?" he asked sadly.
"I don't know, but we're not going to have to think about that because we're right," I said, trying to reassure myself just as much as them.
"So we're saying this is Leo," April remarked, gesturing towards the figure on the bed.
"Yes," replied Master Splinter.
"Okay. We have one minute," she said.
A feeling of dread settled over the room and huddled around the cot in silence. Mikey and Donnie were standing on either side of me, and I felt rage growing in me at the terror they were feeling. I couldn't help them; I was just as scared, but that wouldn't stop me from trying.
"It'll be okay guys," I whispered as the Kraang device started to hum.
The projector fired up, and the Kraang was once again squirming on the wall. Shredder was standing at his side, but neither the clone nor the vial were anywhere to be seen.
"Hello. Enjoying our little game?" sneered the Shredder.
"Go to hell!" I growled, unable to hold my tongue.
Master Splinter glared at me for my use of language, but Donnie patted my shell trying to calm me down.
"I think he's already been," Mikey remarked.
"Oh that wasn't very nice; I'm not sure we want to play with you anymore!" the Kraang sneered.
"No! No, we'll play," Donnie cried, trying to smooth things over.
"Well, I think your brother should apologize," whined the Kraang.
"I think so too," said the Shredder with a malicious grin.
"I ain't apologizing to them," I growled lowly.
"We don't have a choice, Raph," Donnie sighed.
"You must my son," Master Splinter intoned in a voice barely hiding his frustration.
"Fine. I'm sorry," I muttered.
"There! Was that so hard? Now let's get back to the game," said Shredder.
I glared at him in response.
"Where's the clone and the antidote?" asked Donnie.
"In a safe place ready for delivery upon your decision," said the Kraang.
"How do we know you won't trick us?" April asked warily.
"On my honor, we will not trick you. You will get what you get," growled Shredder.
Well, that was reassuring. The guy with no honor was swearing on his honor. Forgive me if I don't believe him. Master Splinter's tail twitched in annoyance next to me.
"Have you made a decision turtles?" giggled the Kraang.
We looked at each other for reassurance before Donnie stepped forward.
"Yes. We choose this one," he said, pointing to the Leo with us.
The Kraang paused for a moment, and the Shredder's eyes widened for a second, but it was so fast I wasn't even sure I had seen it.
"Alright. A Foot ninja with the antidote, are on the roof of the Dynasty Buffet in China Town. Only two of you may go or the deal is off," instructed Shredder.
"Oh, and you only have twenty minutes. Your time starts now. Ta-ta!" sneered the Kraang, waving a tentacle.
The projector shut off. We stared in stunned silence for a few seconds before all shell broke loose. Mikey and I leapt up and ran out of the Lair, Donnie and April hurriedly began to readying the lab for any treatment Leo might need, and Master Splinter ran to the kitchen to make tea.
"We'll be back soon!" I yelled over my shoulder.
Mikey and I's feet splashed through the sewers once again as we raced to China Town. Noises echoed off the tunnel walls, and light reflected off the water creating eerie pictures on the wall. I was exhausted and started to slow down, but the thought of my brother spurred me on, and I called upon energy I didn't know I had and kept going. Finally, Mikey and I arrived at the manhole cover that had started this whole mess. An indescribable hatred for the ladder I was climbing up to the surface filled me, and I hoped I never, ever had to climb it again after this day. It didn't matter if we were going to China Town and this was the fastest way, I would go around.
We climbed up onto the surface, weapons drawn in case there was an ambush, and began our trek into the darkness. Somewhere in the distance a dog barked, and cars honked but here it was eerily still. Mikey and I crept up to the roof of the loathsome restaurant and found ourselves staring down two Foot Ninja instead of the one we had been expecting. One held the vial we needed; the other held what we had decided was the clone. He was missing his bandana. I was confused, had the ninja not gotten the memo yet?
"Ummmm, hi? We're here for the vial thingy," Mikey said cautiously, breaking the silence.
The ninja exchanged glances and tossed us the vial, but instead of leaving they stood staring at us.
"Okay, the deal's done. You can leave now, ya idiots," I growled.
No response, they just kept staring.
"Raph, I don't like this," Mikey murmured.
"Neither do I, let's get-"I was cut off by a loud crashing.
"What the…?" I trailed off as my eyes took in the scene before me.
Karai had landed on the ground in front of the ninja, her katana out stretched. She had tripped or something on the way down from the neighboring building and brought down their water tower, which was an incredibly un-Karai like thing to do. She straightened and cast a glare at the offending hunk of metal on the neighboring roof before turning back to us. She was swaying a little on her feet, and despite her cruel outward appearance, she seemed nervous. Her eyes were darting back and forth like she was looking for something. Finally, her eyes landed on something and her vision narrowed; she unsteadily took a step forward.
"Karai, I really don't have time for you right now," I growled, putting myself between her and Mikey.
"Well, that's too bad. Give me the vial," she hissed.
"What? No!" I cried.
Karai took a step back and stared at the two ninja standing behind her. Suddenly, she grabbed the clone and held her katana up against his neck. She stared us down.
"I'll kill him unless you give me the vial," she said menacingly.
"Go ahead, did you get the memo? That ain't Leo," I growled, backing away.
She snarled and held the katana harder against his neck, the skin around the blade turning white. He struggled and stared at us pleadingly.
"Guys, help me!" he croaked.
"Look, I'm sorry, you seemed like a nice guy but you're not our brother and our responsibility is to him. See ya," Mikey replied, starting to turn to leave the roof.
As I turned my back to leave with him, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I spun quickly, and my eyes widened in horror as I saw Karai release the clone and heave her katana at Mikey. I was too far away from him to do anything, and he was still walking towards the edge of the roof.
"Mikey! Watch out!" I screamed as the katana rushed towards him.
The world seemed to slow down as I watched Mikey turn around, his eyes wide, to face the katana. He ducked, but not soon enough. I shut my eyes, unable to watch as the sword hurtled towards my baby brother. The disgusting, heart-wrenching sound of the weapon sinking into flesh echoed across the rooftop, and I heard Mikey scream. My eyes flew open.
"Mikey!" My heart pounded in my chest as I raced across the rooftop to where my brother lay, soaked in blood with a katana sticking out of his chest.
I dropped to my knees next to him and a sob wracked my body as I leaned over him. He let out a shaky breath, and I noticed that he had managed to put his bandana on the wound in an effort to stanch the bleeding. The clone was kneeling across from me with wide eyes. Mikey rattled out another breath, but his eyes stayed shut. I turned and glared at Karai who had a look of surprise on her face.
"I'll kill you for this! Why? Why would you do this? You could've killed me, why him? Your father said he wasn't going to double-cross us so what were you even doing here? What was so important that you had to kill my brother? Because that's what you did, he's dying right now because of you!" I roared, rage filling me.
Before Karai had a chance to answer, I heard a weak voice.
"Raphie?"
"Mikey? I'm right here, buddy, it's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay," I whispered, trying to hold back a sob.
Nothing was going to be okay. Nothing was ever going to be okay again. I looked down at my injured brother with tears in my eyes though I was trying desperately to hold them back. His eyes were still shut, and he released another weak breath.
"Raphie? Raph, I'm right here. It's okay," the voice said again, still quiet but stronger.
I blinked. That wasn't coming from the turtle on the ground. My eyes widened and hope surged in my chest. Looking up I found myself staring into the eyes of my dazed, but safe, little brother. My gaze shifted in shock from Mikey, to the turtle on the ground, to Karai who was watching with a pained smirk. Relieved that my brother was alive, I stood up and took out my Sais, again placing myself in between my brother and Karai. Mikey was trying to comfort the dying clone, or what I could only hope was the clone after a feat like that, but he seemed dazed from what he'd seen. He was in no condition to fight.
"Karai…," I growled darkly, drumming my fingers along the handles of my Sais in anticipation.
"Raphael," she replied coolly, but she was still swaying unsteadily.
"I was going to leave you, but after that stunt, I don't think so. What could you possibly earn by killing my brother? If you had planned on taking us down and setting a trap you would have asked for Donnie too and had more ninja. What is this about?" I huffed furiously while repeating the inner mantra of think like Leo, think like Leo. Stall her, think like Leo.
"That poison they gave your brother, or the clone I lost track, I accidentally was dosed with it. Poisoned katana during training. They said they would give me the cure but in the commotion they forgot. I need it, so give it to me!" she cried, lunging towards it.
"Hold up, why aren't you unconscious if you were poisoned?" I asked.
"I wasn't given a sedative and have considerably less in my system than that pathetic turtle," she spat.
I didn't care at this point what she said, I was just trying to glean information. Karai was going down, but I didn't have the time to do anything drastic. Instead, I vaulted towards Karai, who tried to dodge, but became incredibly unbalanced. I whirled around and smacked her over the head with the handle of my Sai. She fell to the ground in a heap, and the Foot ninja disappeared into the shadows without a word. They would be back soon with reinforcements; we needed to get back to the Lair soon.
I ran back to where Mikey sat next to the clone and knelt down next to Mikey. I hugged him tightly and held him close. I didn't say anything; I didn't have to. The clone let out a wet cough, and his breathing became more ragged, but he appeared to be conscious now.
"Raph," he choked out, "Is Mikey okay? Where is he?"
I realized that he couldn't see Mikey behind my hulking form, and I moved over while remaining close to Mike.
"Ya, ya he's okay. Thanks to you," I whispered.
"Good. I'm glad I got to see you guys one last time. Tell Master Splinter and Donnie and…and… April that I love them," he groaned between rattling breaths and wet coughs.
Blood started to seep from the corner of his mouth. Mikey grabbed his hand and mine for comfort. Neither of us were sure whether or not this was our brother, and these were quite possibly our last moments with him. Suddenly, he gave a heaving gasp and winced in pain. Mikey whimpered next to me, and guilt riddled me because I knew I could do nothing. He fixed his gaze on us, and I could see the light slowly fading from the bright blue eyes.
"I remember now. I was born in a Kraang facility, and all the memories I thought I had were all his. Your brother. I'm not him, but I love you all like I was. Be safe, and take care of him. Be safe," he whispered almost inaudibly before the light left his eyes completely.
He let out one last breath and then relaxed on the roof. Mikey stifled a sob, and I stared at the dead turtle before me in disbelief. Something told me that he had known. He had known he wasn't our brother, but he had still been willing to give his life for Mikey. I felt guilty for all the things I had said to him, but I would never get to apologize. Suddenly, his words started to sink into me. This wasn't really Leo. We still had time to save our brother. Karai started to stir on the rooftop behind us, and I jumped to my feet. I hauled Mikey up to his feet and checked to make sure he still had the antidote before dragging him down the fire escape and into the sewers.
"He's dead, Raphie, this was all for nothing," Mikey sobbed when we got into the tunnel.
I sighed inwardly; how had I not noticed that Mikey hadn't heard his last words? Mikey was staring at the vial in his hands in disgust.
"No, Mikey. He's not dead! Before he died, didn't you hear him? He said he was the clone. We still have time to save Leo," I told him gently.
"Really?" Mikey gasped.
"Really," I replied.
"Then what are we waiting for? Booyakasha!" he yelled and took off through the sewers at break neck speed.
I followed him excitedly down the now-familiar path back to the Lair. We leapt over the turnstiles and into the lab. Master Splinter was pacing nervously next to Leo's bed, and April was seated next to him with a worried look. Donnie was typing furiously into his computer.
"Donnie! We've got the antidote!" I yelled as we burst through the entrance.
Donnie's head jerked up like it was attached to a string, and he held his hand up for the antidote, which Mikey rushed over to him before seating himself down next to Leo with a weird, pained expression on his face. April looked at him in confusion and looked at me as if to ask, "What happened out there?"
I shook my head; I'd tell her later. Master Splinter hurried towards me.
"My son, why were you two gone for so long? We were worried something had happened," he stated in his clipped accent.
"Sensei, with all due respect, I don't want to talk about it, and I guarantee Mikey doesn't want to either. The important thing is that we got the antidote," I sighed.
Surprisingly, he didn't press, and we both walked over to join the family at Leo's bedside. Donnie approached us with a needle after a few minutes. The syringe clearly held the antidote, and Mikey waited with baited breath as Donnie injected the serum into Leo's arm.
"It might take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to work depending on how much poison he has in him, and how strong the antidote is. I just checked to make sure it wasn't lethal. I guess we'll know when he wakes up whether or not we made the right choice," Donnie muttered as he threw away the needle.
"This is Leo," Mikey stated tonelessly.
"How do you know?" Master Splinter said in surprise.
"We saw the clone die, that's how," I growled, shooting everyone a glare to dare them to ask any more questions.
Despite the many quizzical faces looking at Mikey and I, no one asked a single question though it did look like Donnie was about to hurt himself in his effort to not ask a question. Had the situation not been so grave I would have laughed. Suddenly Leo began to stir on the bed, and he moaned in his sleep. Mikey recoiled, the sound was too similar to the one the clone had made. I laid a hand on his shoulder and we shared a look. When we turned back to the cot, Leo's eyes flew open, and he stared at us all in confusion for a second. His addled brain tried to make sense of what was going on and where he was before realization hit him. He grinned and stared up at all of us.
"Hey guys. What's with the sour faces? I can go back to sleep if you want," he joked as we all stared at him in disbelief and relief.
"No!" Mikey cried, and he wrapped Leo in a hug.
Everyone laughed, but I just smiled. My family was whole again, and maybe now everything would be okay.