Author's Note:

To the Guests: Thank you, thank you, and thank youu! :D

Well

When Leonardo came back to his room, Raphael was waiting for him, sitting on his bed.

"Where have you been? I thought we agreed on you being extra careful."

Leonardo didn't miss the anxious undertone in Raphael's voice. Did his twin think he would be stupid enough to leave the house? Of course he wasn't! He was only stupid enough to get caught spying.

He sighed. "It's a long story."

"I'm listening."

Leonardo couldn't see the details of Raphael's features in the twilight, but his twin's voice left no doubt he was on the verge of losing his cool.

"Promise you won't yell first."

There was a pause.

"You know that's not reassuring, right?"

Leonardo lay down on his bed. "Promise?"

"Promise."

And Raphael kept his word, he didn't yell. Although Leonardo could have sworn his indignant whispers were just as deafening.

In the end, he managed to reassure his twin that Splinter would be there and he, Leonardo, would not move even a finger, and of course he would pretend never to have seen the place before.

He also managed to convince him that no, Raphael couldn't pretend to be sick to skip training and follow them in the desert, he had to be at his best for his comrades. The Year End Festival traditionally opened with a show offered by the new firebenders of the year, scheduled in the early afternoon, when the sun was at its highest point in the sky, and Raphael had trained hard for it.

Raphael then countered that Leonardo could pretend to be sick - but Leonardo reminded him that it was best not to attract attention on himself, and being sick would be suspicious… Not to mention that his mother would see through the lie and demand an explanation, and what was he supposed to say? It was better to go along with Bishop's plan and keep a low profile.

Leonardo didn't sleep well that night. His dreams were haunted by shadows and whispers, and he kept tossing and turning in his bed.

He woke up before dawn and didn't hesitate to stand up, letting Raphael sleep a little more.

To his surprise, Donatello and Michelangelo were already up too - and in top shape for the incoming festival.

They were in the kitchen with his mother, who gave him a good morning kiss and hugged him softly.

"Your father wants to talk to you. But have breakfast first."

"Yes, Mom," Leonardo said, sitting next to Michelangelo.

He tried to hide how ashamed he felt. Whatever Yoshi wanted to tell him, it would be well-deserved.

"Leo! I can't wait to see Raph today!" Michelangelo grinned, allowing Leonardo to see exactly what he was eating. "He's going to be awesome!"

"And tonight, Leatherhead and I have a surprise for all of you," Donatello added with pride.

"Is it safe?" Leonardo asked, amused in spite of his current predicament.

Donatello stuck his tongue out at him. "Of course!"

"And no lessons for three days!" Michelangelo seemed ecstatic. "I love the Year End Festival! And Raph and you will have plenty of time to play with us!"

"Of course," Leonardo said fondly.

Michelangelo nodded. "And even after it's going to be great! Dad won't have to lead the clan and he'll have time to play with us, too! Right, Mom?"

"You're absolutely right," Tang Shen answered with a grin.

Leonardo couldn't help grinning too. His little brother's enthusiastic nature was contagious.

His mood changed when he went to his father's study and knocked. He fully expected a lecture.

"Come in, Leonardo."

Leonardo obeyed. "Dad, I'm so sorry about yesterday, I…"

Yoshi cut off his apology. "What is done is done. Splinter will be waiting for you in the village. Bishop has already left his room to talk to him. I expect you to behave in his presence."

Leonardo bowed his head. "Yes, Dad."

Yoshi sighed. "Leonardo, what I mean is that you have to be careful. This man is dangerous. He's not our enemy, but he isn't a friend, either."

"I understand," said Leonardo who wasn't sure he did.

"The place he wants to go to…" Yoshi hesitated. "It's a bad memory for our people. Some things are better left… undisturbed. Not that you'll find anything."

Leonardo didn't dare to comment.

"I would come with you, but…" Yoshi shook his head. "I must attend to the last preparations."

"I know, Dad. Don't worry, it'll be alright."

Yoshi stood up. "Now go. We'll talk more about what you've done later. I know things have been hard on you lately, but you'll have to learn to think before you act."

Leonardo winced. He would never admit to Raphael what their father had just said, no matter the circumstances.

Bishop rode eagerly beside Splinter. The boy and a few guards, along with Bishop's own people, were riding behind them.

"Like we told you, Leonardo knows nothing," Splinter whispered to him after making sure said Leonardo couldn't hear. "He's neither a warrior nor a firebender and tradition doesn't allow it."

"It doesn't exactly seem fair," Bishop said dryly. Not that he really cared about Leonardo's feelings, but tradition had always seemed so limiting to him.

"We would still appreciate it if you respected our beliefs," Splinter said firmly.

Bishop shrugged. He had no desire to make an enemy of the old firebender. The rumor was that he hadn't lost any of his power.

"You don't need to worry, I won't."

Until, of course, concealment becomes impossible, he thought, absent-mindedly stroking the waterbender crystal.

Could the item really reveal the presence of the ancient Shredder, if the legends were true and he wasn't dead, but merely sleeping?

Bishop counted on the fact it reacted to waterbending. To keep himself alive, the Shredder must have used some very powerful bending indeed; Bishop hoped that the crystal would catch it.

And then…

Then he would do what these traditionalists had never dared to do, and embrace the opportunity to possess one of the most powerful weapons on the planet.

So far, so good.

Leonardo was relieved. They were arriving at the well area and nothing bad had happened. The earthquake from last time must have been a random event, a pure coincidence. Besides, Splinter and Bishop were lost in a whispered conversation and didn't pay him any attention.

He had even had a very good surprise: his friend Casey was amongst the guards.

Leonardo was beginning to consider the bright side of his situation. Karai would go wild when she would learn that he had come back to the well, with Splinter no less…

He grinned.

They came in sight of the well. The place was exactly like in Leonardo's memories: sand and scattered stones.

The only difference was that the temperature was cooler. It was still very early in the morning, and the desert wasn't as hot as it would soon be.

Splinter stopped. "We're here," he whispered.

Bishop dismounted without a word and took something from his belt.

Leonardo didn't see exactly what it was, only that it seemed a light blue. The man caught his curious glance and smiled.

"This is a magic like you have never seen," he said.

"Bishop," Splinter said warningly, dismounting too.

Bishop winked at Leonardo before heading for the collapsed well itself.

Without even thinking about it, Leonardo jumped from his horse and began following him.

"Leonardo, stay where you are. This area is dangerous." Splinter's sharp tone left no doubt about the fact it was an order - one not to be ignored.

"Yes, Master Splinter," Leonardo said, and he stepped backwards.

Immediately, one of the worst headaches he had ever experienced took his head in a vise. He stopped dead in his tracks, his heart beating. Had anybody noticed anything?

Thankfully, Splinter and Bishop were still moving away from him.

The pain was almost unbearable. Leonardo grabbed the reins of his horse and hid his face in the animal's coat.

"Leo?"

Oh no. He had forgotten about Casey.

"I'm alright," he managed to say. "Just tired. I didn't sleep well that night."

Casey seemed quite dubious.

"Are you sure?"

Leonardo nodded. Beads of sweat slid down his temples.

He wanted nothing more than to accompany Bishop and Splinter to the well. It was… it was calling him.

He grabbed the reins tighter.

"We could begin to go back," Casey offered. "Maybe it's something you ate?"

"That must be it," Leonardo uttered. "I knew I should have been more reasonable."

A surprised cry made them both turn around. They saw Bishop kneel in the sand and pick up something. His men took a step towards him, but he waved at them that everything was fine.

"I wonder what just happened," Casey said.

Bishop was ecstatic.

"Do you want to touch it?"

"No," Splinter said coldly.

"You should. It has become so cold, exactly like ice. It surprised me." Bishop watched the crystal that he was now holding with hands carefully wrapped in cloth. It had begun pulsating slowly. "Incredible. After all this time…" He glanced at Splinter. "I think we have our proof."

"Then we know that we were right to guard this area for so long." Splinter watched him severely. "And we'll keep guarding it. You've learned what you wanted. Let's go back."

"Yes," Bishop mused. "I guess I've learned what I wanted. But couldn't we learn more?"

They were reaching the scattered stones near the well. The crystal pulsated faster.

"The well has collapsed. You can't go down."

"That's too bad." Bishop thought about his options. He wasn't going to dig with his bare hands. Besides, he wasn't stupid enough to think he could chain such a powerful being to his will on his own.

He would need help.

"Well, I think you're right. Let's go back."

Leonardo was trying hard to keep up the pretense that his head wasn't about to explode, and now his tongue was as dry as paper.

He rummaged through his saddlebag to find his flask and brought it to his mouth.

However, he hadn't realized that his hands were trembling. He let go of the flask and the water was immediately absorbed by the desert.

"Oh no," he said pitifully, as if it was the worst thing ever.

"Don't worry, I'll take mine." Casey patted him on the back and went to his horse to retrieve his own flask.

Leonardo waited for him, absent-mindedly stroking his mount.

He didn't realize when his gestures changed - and suddenly the water that the sand had soaked up was ascending to him…

Leonardo started and it splashed the horse.

What was wrong with him? He couldn't afford to be that careless!

He glanced at Casey, but the man was still rummaging through his belongings.

Leonardo felt grateful that his friend wasn't more organized.

Help me, a very distant voice suddenly said - and at the same time, it was as if it was in his head.

Who are you? Leonardo froze.

You know who I am.

"There!" Casey's voice snapped Leonardo out of whatever it was. "And this time, I'll help you drink."

"Thank you." The water was delicious. Leonardo kept both his hands clamped against each other to avoid a disaster. He was beginning to feel dizzy and wasn't sure he could control himself.

"Leonardo, are you alright?"

Leonardo realized that Splinter and Bishop had come back. Bishop was several feet away, talking to his men; soon after, one of them nodded and departed.

Splinter, however, was watching Leonardo with concern.

"I'm not feeling too well," Leonardo admitted.

Although Splinter's presence made things better. It was warm and soothing; and now Leonardo couldn't feel the other's presence at all. His headache had vanished.

"But I'm better now. Can we go back? I don't want to miss the festival's opening."

Casey frowned but didn't contradict him. Splinter nodded.

"Yes, we can go back."

The trip back was mostly silent. Leonardo was both trying to make sense of what he had felt, and desperately refusing to do just that.

That presence, here… and it had spoken to him…

I can't go back to that place, ever, Leonardo realized. If Bishop demands it again I'll have to break my own leg or something…

A nasty prospect for sure, but still better than… than what? Communicating with the worst enemy of his people, a waterbender like him?

Leonardo pressed his eyelids together to hold back the treacherous tear that threatened to escape. At that moment, he would rather have never discovered his bending at all.

Something hard and cold pressed against his hand. He opened his eyes and realized that it was a tiny crystal. And its light blue seemed familiar…

With horror, he realized that it must be the item that Bishop had kept in his purse. Why was it against his hand? Why was it against his hand?

He tried to wish it back in Bishop's purse, but the crystal remained stuck where it was.

And then Bishop turned his head towards Leonardo, and Leonardo barely had the time to hide the treacherous thing inside his fist.

"Well, I hope you've enjoyed the ride. I must say it went beyond my own expectations."

Bishop seemed in a very good mood, and Leonardo did his best to hide his emerging panic.

"Yes, Sir."

"Now let's attend this festival, shall we? The highest excitement of the year."

He smiled derisively before galloping off.

Leonardo's heart sank.

He could only hope he would have an opportunity to return the crystal very, very soon, and that Bishop wouldn't notice its absence until then.