Ch 36 Moving On.

The explosion sounded loud in his ears as he watched the large man thrash around while screaming in pain. "FATHER!" He cried out. "Let me go, I have to help him, FATHER!"

"Leo," He turned to see Raph standing behind him, looking at him with a tender gaze. "It's okay, they never found the body."

Leo turned back to see the fire spreading and surrounding him. He had to get out but he couldn't move, he had to find his father first. "They never found the body," Raph's voice whispered behind him as he continued to search fiery room frantically.

"Leonardo."

He turned in the direction of a new voice. It was soft and feminine, filled with love and care; a voice he had not heard in months. "Mother?" Leo's voice was a whisper but sounded loud over the explosions and fire roaring around him.

"Beware Leonardo," He looked around and saw a figure of a turtle emerge from the flames, "He is coming."

"Mother," Leo whispered breathlessly as the apparition came closer to him. "Who is coming? Who should I beware of?

"Beware Leonardo," Venus said again as she began to fade back into the flames. "No, please mother, don't leave me!" A hand on his shoulder had him turning around to see Raph slowly moving away from him. "It's alright Leo," He said as he too began to fade into the flames, "They never found his body."

A large cracking sound above his head had Leo looking up to see the ceiling falling down on top of him, he let out a large scream, covering his head as smoldering rock and ash came falling on top of him.

Leo sat up in bed gasping for breath and darting his eyes around the room. He took in large gulps of air as a figure beside him moved. Raph sat up and gently put a hand on Leo's shoulder. "You okay babe?" he asked as Leo stared at him with a frantic look. "Another nightmare?"

Leo nodded as Raph brought him into a hug. "They keep getting worse." Leo muttered as he tiredly lay against Raph. "This time my mother came to me and was warning me to…." He looked away from Raph wondering if he should continue with his thought.

"To what Leo?" Raph pressed.

Leo hesitated to continue telling Raph his dream. For the last three months, Leo had been trying to get on with his life. He had finally seen his aunt's lawyer and, since she had no heirs, was advised she had left everything to him. She had owned her apartment and he had hired a real estate agency to sell it. He even decided to deal with his father's estate, using the same real estate agency to sell the house, and since his father had no will, he was happy to turn everything over to the DA's office and the state of New York. With the exception of a few things in his bedroom, he wanted nothing to do with anything that belonged to his father. As he had told Raph, "Everything he had was bought with blood money, and I won't be a part of that."

Now it was nearing the end of April, Leo had been living with the Hamatos since that fateful night everything had come crashing down around him, and he thought his life would finally start to have some normality to it, but a week ago the nightmares had started. At first it was just a recurring dream of the room being on fire, than it escalated to seeing his dad screaming and running away in a fiery blaze, and now this latest one. He had told Raph about the past dreams and Raph had insisted Leo had just not come to terms with what had happened. But as the dreams continued, Raph's frustration over Leo's insistence that they were something more was causing a major rift between the two of them.

"Leo?" Raph looked at him with concern. "What did your mother warn you about?"

Leo took a breath, "She told me that 'he' was coming and that I had to beware of him."

"Him?" Raph looked at Leo in bewilderment, "Him who?"

Again Leo hesitated, "I….I think she meant my dad."

Raph huffed angrily. "Leo, you need to see someone." He told him.

Leo looked at Raph in annoyance, "You think I'm paranoid don't you?"

"No, I just think you need to see someone who can help you get over what your dad did too you." Leo lay down and rolled over so his shell was to Raph, "When do you go see Dr. Rockwell next?"

Leo looked at the digital clock on their side table. It was two in the morning on Sunday. "Tomorrow around three," He told him.

Raph placed a tender hand on his shoulder, "Do you want me to go with you?" He asked, "Since tomorrow is the start of Spring Break, I've got nothing going on and we can maybe talk to Rockwell about recommending someone for you to speak to." He advised. Leo shook lightly at the touch he had begun to miss. Since their continuing arguments, intimacy between them had been almost nothing. But they still slept in the same bed in hopes of making things better.

"No." Leo told him as he attempted to go back to sleep. "I can speak with him about it."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Several miles away, on the other side of town, a taxi cab pulled up to an abandon apartment building. A large mutant Bengal tiger stepped out and stared up at the three story building. He paid the driver, started up the steps and went inside. Making his way through the halls, he came upon an apartment on the second floor; he pushed open the door and walked in. He took a look around as he stepped inside the apartment and made his way to a room in the back where a man in a white lab coat was leaning over a figure in a bed. The large tiger looked down at the man in the bed noticing the burn scars that covered most of his body, his eyes roamed over the equipment that was hooked up to the man, the oxygen mask that covered his face, the IV that was hooked up to his arm, and the monitor that showed a slow steady heartbeat.

"How much longer Dr. Falco?" The large tiger questioned.

"The process is slow but he is finally starting to react to the drug." Falco held up a hypodermic needle and tapped the vial a few times. "Do you have the rest of the mutagen Tiger Claw?"

The large mutant known as Tiger Claw held up a brief case. "It took some time to retrieve since the worms are not the most cooperative creatures but we finally managed to get what was needed."

"Very good," Falco finished giving the injection then turned to the case and opened it. He inspected the contents then put everything away. "We only require one more thing to complete the experiment, than once we have accomplished that, your master Shredder will be as good as new." He started laughing, "Maybe even better than what he was before!"

Tiger Claw rolled his eyes. "And when will you be requiring this last….thing?"

"It's hard to say, possibly another month depending on how Saki continues to react to the drug but so far, everything seems to be working extremely well," Falco replied, "I just need to make sure Saki's body does not reject the mutant's DNA."

"You have been working on him for almost three months." Tiger Claw pointed out, his voice beginning to rise in irritation. "Shouldn't you have already figured all this out by now?"

Falco turned to him with a look of indignation, "First of all, you should be happy he is alive at all," he began as he continued to look over the equipment, "If it hadn't been for Stockman calling me when he did, I might never had gotten to TCRI in time to reach him and save his life," He looked at the mutant with an air of authority, "Second, science takes time, this is the first time I've ever worked with the vaccine on a human and one wrong mistake could cost your master his life." Tiger Claw narrowed his eyes as Falco continued to berate him. "And third of all, if this does work, not only will Saki go on to be a superior being but we can finally make his dream come true," Falco again got an insane look in his eye as he started laughing. "And then I'll get revenge on those fools in the science community who laughed at me and threw me out thanks to that Dr. Rockwell," He started to wring his hands, "And when I have achieved my ultimate goal I'll return to TCRI and destroy Tyler Rockwell and everyone who works with him!"

Tiger Claw backed away slowly as the human laughed loudly, he walked over to where Saki lay on the bed and stared down at him. His look was one of pain and his breathing was heavy. As he stared down at him, Saki's eyes fluttered lightly and he opened them slightly, they stared at each other for only a moment before Saki's eyes closed once again.

"He is awake?" Tiger Claw looked over to Falco who had finally calmed down and was now looking over his notes.

"He goes in and out of consciousness." Falco replied, "But so far, that's been it."

Tiger Claw nodded and started to leave. "Let me know when I am to retrieve what you need."

"It will be within the next few weeks." Falco replied, "From what my informant tells me, the turtle goes to TCRI once a month."

Tiger Claw nodded, "Then the next time he is scheduled to go, we will extend an invitation for him to visit his father."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was early morning when Leo made his way down to the kitchen and over to the stove where he slowly went about making himself some tea. He stared down at the flame under the teapot and found his mind wandering back to the night of the fire. His nightmare continued to haunt him as he thought about what his mother had been saying. 'Maybe my father really isn't dead,' He told himself, 'My mom was trying to warn me about something and Raph kept reminding me they never found the body,' he shook his head, 'What if that's what I need to be aware of?'

"Leonardo?" Leo startled at the voice that sounded behind him. It was then he was aware of a loud whistling noise coming from the teapot as the spout shot out steam. Leo quickly turned off the stove then turned to face Splinter.

"Oh, um…Master Splinter." He said as he tried to compose himself. "You're up already?"

"It is five in the morning my son." Splinter said with a smile as he took a seat at the table. Leo smiled back at him, he loved hearing Splinter refer to him as 'son', his own father never called him that and it made him feel loved and accepted.

Leo took out two cups and poured tea for both Splinter and himself. He sat across from the rat and the two held their cups up and bowed their heads to each other. "You are on vacation and do not have to be up so early," Splinter said as he took a sip, "Is everything alright?"

Leo sighed heavily. "Raph thinks I'm going crazy." He said.

Splinter chuckled lightly, "Did he tell you that directly?"

"Well, no not really." Leo muttered, "I keep having these nightmares," Leo said and went on to tell Splinter about his nightmares.

Splinter nodded and stroked his long beard as he listened, "And Raphael believes you continue to have these nightmares because you cannot come to terms with what your father did to you?"

Leo nodded sadly, "You know Sensei, this is supposed to be the best time of my life, I'll be graduating from high school in about two months, Raph wants to take me to the prom and I'm supposed to be excited about possibly going on to college or may be the air force or…" Leo looked at his tea dejectedly. "Or something after school gets out but…" He looked back at Splinter, "I'm not excited and this certainly has not been the best time of my life."

Splinter placed a hand on his arm. "You have been through so much in such a short time Leonardo," he reminded him, "Have you taken time to grieve?"

"What do you mean?" Leo asked, "I cried for my mother and my aunt," He shrugged, "I have grieved."

"Crying over the loss of a loved one is not the same as grieving for someone," splinter said, "But…have you grieved for your father?"

Leo shook his head, "My father killed my mother, blackmailed and killed my aunt, and for the past thirteen years of my life, he led me to believe that I had a cancer just so he could use me for a test subject," Leo huffed angrily, "Not only does he not deserve my tears but he doesn't deserve my grief either," Splinter watched in concern as Leo stood up. "Sorry Sensei," Leo said as he placed his cup in the sink. "But I am not going to waste my time feeling sorry over a monster like him." Leo walked toward the door to the living room, "I'll be in the dojo working out."

"Leonardo," The turtle turned back to Splinter. "If you are concerned that these nightmares might be something else, you should definitely keep yourself prepared for any unwanted…." Splinter hesitated slightly, "Visitors, shall we say?"

Leo looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding at Splinter in understanding, he turned and walked out of the kitchen while Splinter shook his head sadly as he watched him leave.

xxxxxxxxxxx

On Monday, Leo made his way to the table where he found Casey and Slash currently eating their lunch. As he sat down, he couldn't help but notice Casey was looking very angry about something. "What's the matter guys?" Leo asked as he took a bite of food, "Not doing so well on your finals?"

"No," Slash answered, "We're both doing fine actually," He nodded toward Casey, "He's just upset because April just made an announcement…."

"I don't wanna talk about it Slash," Casey said angrily.

Slash looked at Leo and rolled his eyes toward the dark haired teen. Leo smiled slightly and nodded in agreement. "So how are you doing with your finals Leonardo?" Slash asked.

"She's moving to California!" Casey suddenly yelled out before Leo could respond.

"Who is Casey?" Leo asked.

"I said I didn't want to talk about it." Casey said with a huff as he stabbed his fork into his food.

"April is moving to California." Slash replied and nodded behind them.

"Yes, I am," April said as she sat down across from Casey instead of taking her usual seat next to him. Donnie sat next to her and a few moments later, Mikey, Renet and Spike joined the group.

"You do what you need to do April," Donnie told her, "If California is where you think you should go then that's where…"

"Why don't you just keep your big mouth shut turtle?" Casey yelled, "It's none of your business anyway."

"Don't talk to him like that!" April yelled at him. "At least he supports me!"

At this moment Raph came up and looked at the teens in bewilderment, "What is going on over here?" He demanded, "I could hear you two yelling out in the hallway."

"You said you were going to NYU," Casey continued as he ignored Raph's question.

"Well I decided that since I got accepted to UCLA that I would go there instead," April told him, "And I would think you would be happy that I got into a great university."

"I would be if it wasn't sending you across the country!"

"Well, why should it matter to you anyway…"

"Enough!" Everyone in the cafeteria looked up in surprise as Leo stood and yelled at the two bickering teens. "What is the matter with you two?!" He looked at everyone angrily. "If you love her like you say you do then you should be supporting her decision, not trying dissuade her from following her dreams," he yelled at Casey then turned to April, "And you," He shook hard as tears started falling, "You should be flattered that he cares enough to want you to stay close, it shows he loves you and wants to be with you." April looked up at Leo wide eyed. "So talk to each other instead of being angry over this, figure out what you can do to stay together while you both follow your dreams!" Leo took deep breaths and looked from one person to another; he grabbed his tray and, after a glance at Raph, stormed out of the cafeteria. After a few moments, Raph got up and quickly went to catch up to Leo.

"Leo, wait!" Raph called to him as he saw Leo walking up the stairs to go to his locker.

"I have to study for my next final Raph," Leo said angrily, "What do you want?"

Raph startled at Leo's attitude. "Well for one thing, what was all that about?"

Leo looked at Raph with a slightly annoyed look, "I just can't stand it when two people who love each other have arguments over stupid stuff like that." Leo said, "April wants to become an archaeologist and Casey wants to join the police force," Raph nodded, "I know Casey wants to marry April but why not sit down and talk about where they want their future to go instead of getting all upset over it?" Leo opened his locker and pulled out one book while he put away his old one. "Casey can join the police force in California and then once April is done with UCLA, he can look into a transfer and maybe they can come back here or stay out there." He slammed his locker. "I just don't get it." He grumbled angrily.

"Is that the only thing your upset over or is there something else?" Raph asked knowingly. "Are those nightmares still bothering you?" Leo turned away from him. "Leo, you said you'd ask Dr. Rockwell to recommend someone you can talk to about them."

Leo looked at Raph and nodded, "I will Raph," He said, "But there's a lot going on right now so I just want to wait till after we graduate."

Raph gently stroked Leo's cheek. "Promise me?" Raph asked looking tenderly into Leo's eyes.

Leo looked back at Raph with compassionate eyes, "Let's not talk about this right now Raph," He suggested, "We got the Prom this Friday and next Monday I'll be speaking with Dr. Rockwell," He placed a hand on Raph's shoulder and smiled at him, "And then I'll see about talking to someone about these nightmares."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

At three o'clock, Leo walked into Dr. Rockwell's office to, once again, have his blood tested. He watched stoically as the needle was inserted into his arm and the blood slowly drained. "There we are Leonardo," Dr. Rockwell said as he placed a band aid on the turtle's arm. "All set,"

"So are my blood tests showing any signs of…." Leo shrugged, "Anything at all?" He asked tiredly.

Rockwell looked at Leo with a small smile, "You sound very tired Leonardo," He stated, "Are you sleeping?" Leo nodded, "How are you doing on your finals?" He asked as he started checking his pulse. "Are they stressing you out yet?"

"Not really," Leo shrugged, "I'm done with my most of my test," He replied, "I think I did pretty good."

Rockwell nodded, "Did you enjoy your senior prom?"

Leo nodded, "it was fun," He said while mentally crossing his fingers.

"You must be excited about graduation coming up," He took out a penlight and looked in Leo's eyes, "That's in a few more weeks isn't it?"

Leo nodded, "Two and a half to be exact." He watched as Rockwell began to take notes. "Look Doc," He said as he stood up, "If my blood tests aren't showing anything abnormal, I would like this to be my last visit here."

Dr. Rockwell startled at Leo's announcement. "But Leonardo," He began, "What we see today could change in the future," He told him as Leo stood and started toward the door, "I would not advise stopping this just yet."

"I know but I'm tired of all this," He replied rather hotly. "Since I was five years old people have prodded and poked me and, well, I'm just tired of it all," He told him. "And….I just want it stopped."

Rockwell nodded solemnly, he watched Leo stand and head toward the door, "Leonardo," Leo stopped and looked back at the monkey, "I can't say for certain if anything is happening at this time, but there is a possibility that because of what Saki did to you, your life...maybe limited by..." Rockwell swallowed hard as the two stared at each other, the monkey attempted to speak and explain what he knew Leonardo needed to hear but he couldn't seem to form the words. "Well, let's just say that at any time you think something may be happening..."

Leo nodded, "I'll call you." The Doctor nodded and Leo walked out the door.

In a zombie like state, Leo slowly walked out of the building, his mind elsewhere and feeling very exhausted. He hated lying to Dr. Rockwell but in actuality, sleep had been elusive for him and because of the constant nightmares; he and Raph had not been communicating like they wanted to. He knew graduation was weighing heavily on everyone's minds and for the last several days, he had been trying to come to a decision about what to do once school was over. Splinter had told him he needed to grieve and Raph wanted him to speak to someone about all that was happening, thinking about those things and what he had just learned from Rockwell, he had finally made his decision about what he was going to do once he graduated.

As he walked down the stairs of the building, the squealing of tires behind him jarred him out of his thoughts, he turned in time to see a black van coming toward him. Before he knew what was happening, the van stopped in front of him blocking his path. Leo attempted to run but was quickly grabbed from behind and a wet rag was placed over his mouth. He struggled to break the grip but the arms held him fast as he was dragged into the SUV. Leo's vision faded as he felt himself lifted into the car and placed on the floor.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Poor Leo, he tries so hard to move on but things keep getting in the way, oh well, please R&R. Peace :)