Entwined

Chapter 26: Legend of the Sentinels

"Donnie," Leo started slowly, "where did that blood come from?"

"I saw Rissy in the dream realm, she was bleeding and I was trying to help. It - Look, the rules are different there."

"What, is she some sort of mutant we don't know about?"

"She's an empath." All eyes swung to Reni. "Donnie's connected to her."

"Will someone tell me what the shell is going on?"

"Calm down, Raph. You'll wake Rae."

"Reni?"

"We can have a storytelling session after breakfast."

OoO

"Well, girl, you caused quite a disturbance and let my prize slip away. Who are you?"

Rissy looked up, defiance showing through the blood and bruises covering her face. She spat on Shredder's face before answering.

"I am the Shin'nen No Senchineru."

A swift kick to her side made her grunt in pain. "I do not believe in fairy tales, but I will indulge your nonsense, Sentinel. Where are your friends hiding?"

"Eat a dick."

OoO

"So, wait wait wait, soul mates? That's so cheesy!"

Reni rolled her eyes. "It's over-commercialized, yes, but it's a real thing for empaths. A bound pair shares almost everything, even physical injuries in a lot of cases."

"Then why isn't Donnie bleeding everyhere? He said she was hurt pretty bad."

"They're not a fully bound pair. I suspect that has a lot to do with it. That, or she's purposely keeping her injuries on her side. Empaths aren't exactly common, so I don't know the details of how it works."

"Reni, do you know any more about this legend that Rissy wrote down in her notebook?"

Kaylee perked up. "Ooooh, the Legend of the Yokai? I love that one!"

Emerald eyes glanced amusedly at the excited blonde. "By all means, Kay, enlighten us."

"Once upon a time, many centuries ago, an evil warlord rose to power. He enslaved the land and it's people, poisoning everything he touched with fear and despair. Jealousy and spite festered in the hearts of humanity, luring the demons to us. But, there was a shred of light in the darkness: The Kappa Yokai, summoned from turtle eggs by their Hogosha. Although they were powerful, they would need training in the art of Ninjutsu from a master. Their master taught them the virtues of honor, courage, wisdom, and brotherhood. The Kami smiled down upon what the Hogosha had created, and created four special human women to act as sentinels of the other four virtues of Ninjutsu: Serenity, belief, perseverance, and harmony. After the evil warlord was defeated, the Kappa Yokai settled down with these human women, and each generation passed the tale of the yokai down to the next in case they were ever needed again."

"Aww, bros, I like that story!"

Reni nodded. "And that's why a ninja star normally has four points, to represent the coming together of the Eight Principles of Ninjutsu as the Kappa Yokai came together with their human partners."

Leo clamped a hand over his exuberant brothers mouth as Rae shook her head. "Reni, normally, I wouldn't be one to believe in old legends, but I think this one needs to be taken into account. It's clearly coming true before our eyes."

Reni raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How so?"

"Well, from your old comics, you already know that the guys here represent Honor, Courage, Wisdom, and Brotherhood. It's no stretch to say that you represent your namesake, Serenity, and Rissy has such absolute faith in her abilities that she could easily be the Shin'nen No Senchineru, the Sentinel of Belief."

"Sooooo, does that mean Reni is the Sereniti No Senchineru?"

"Most likely."

"But what about the other two?"

"Is there some importance to the four Sentinels?"

Reni turned to Donnie. "They're said to help unlock the full potential of the Kappa Yokai, help them grow, complete them."

OoO

"The Sentinel of Belief, huh? You're just some pathetic, helpless woman. You will break eventually, Clarissa Reynolds, and when you do I will destroy everything you love, including your turtle friend."

Shredder turned on his heel, leaving Rissy battered and broken on the cold concrete floor. She smiled as much as the pain in her jaw would let her. She'd never break. She just had to believe.

I have faith in you, guys. I won't let these demons eat me.

With that final thought, Rissy welcomed the darkness as unconsciousness flowed over her again.

OoO

"I think I'm going to take a nap guys. I feel really tired all of a sudden."

Leo frowned. "You feeling ok, Don?"

"Yeah, just drained from everything that's happened I think."

"Well, ok but I'm coming to check on you later. I'm still not sure about this 'dream realm' business."

Donnie waved a hand dismissively as he trekked towards his bedroom. "I'll be fine."

He drifted off almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

OoO

"Rae, I made you some super yummy pizza soup~!"

Rae turned amused eyes towards the excitable terrapin. "Thanks Mikey, but it's kind of hard to eat soup with my arm all bandaged up."

"No problemo, I'll just have to feed you!"

Rae's eyes widened. Was he serious? "That's kind of you to offer, Mikey, but it isn't necessary!"

OoO

Outside, Raph was working out. Kaylee wasn't far away, watching with interest. Man, she really took what Rissy said about sticking close to me seriously. He started doing push-ups, and before long Kaylee had moved around to face him.

"I didn't think ninjas did regular stuff like push-ups."

"Well, there's more to being a ninja than looking cool."

Kaylee cocked her head before moving to do push-ups too. The gesture made Raph's mouth quirk. Does she think she can keep up? By the hundredth push-up, Raph was impressed with the frail-looking woman. She'd kept pace with him without complaining.

OoO

Leo and Reni sat side by side, meditating by the lake. A cool breeze tugged at Reni's raven locks, making the ends of her hair tickle Leo's shell. In her hands, she grasped the bouquet of white violets Leo had given her. Let's take a chance on happiness..Leo, what are you asking of me, exactly?