Chapter Twenty-Four - New Way
"Cogolia accepted our offer," Mordou said, sitting in front of the monitor where Zanmoran looked back from.
"Excellent. Now, we can recreate the Heart of Darkness and finally destroy the Earth."
'What?' Leo wanted to yell, but his mouth was still taped.
"The Black Hole Generator?" Mordou asked.
"Indeed."
"You said the ring would help your folk to find a new home. You said nothing about the Earth."
"Of course, I didn't. I didn't risk anything."
Mordou couldn't believe it. How could he believe him in the first place?
"That makes no sense. Why do you want to destroy the Earth that much?"
"No Kraang can be left to be alive," Zanmoran growled.
"The Kraangs aren't a threat anymore. There's no reason to demolish the planet."
"There are still Kraangs on the Earth. We cannot leave them to be. They will make moves against us again if we don't kill them now!"
"There must be another way!"
"Silence, rat!" Zanmoran raised his voice. "You are not in a position to disagree with me. Or would you like to say goodbye to your precious daughter?"
Mordou pressed his lips together, then lowered his head in defeat.
"That's what I thought."
His daughter? Leo thought surprisingly. Does he have a daughter?
Leo remembered that little messages that he'd read in this office some weeks ago.
"We can't wait to see you again. S."
Did his daughter write this to him? Did the Triceratons kidnap his daughter so he had to do what they told him to do? It would explain a lot of things. Leo always thought that something wasn't right with this alliance.
"I will contact you later," Zanmoran said, then he left the chat.
Mordou released a sorrowful sigh. Leo started to make sounds to get Mordou's attention. And it worked. Mordou turned his head towards him. He knew he would have to tell him everything. He was caught in the middle. He didn't want to support the Triceratons anymore. But he didn't want to risk his daughter's life either.
Mordou stood up and walked to the turtle. He took the tape down, so Leo's mouth was free.
"What was it?" Leo asked.
"A defeat."
"Is everyone ready?" Aerglo asked.
"Let them have it!" Raph yelled.
"Come on, we don't have much time," Oberon said restively.
"So, only the Triceratons have that medicine for her. If I hadn't helped them, they wouldn't have given us the medicine, and Sashla wouldn't be alive now. She's in quarantine on a space station of ours. Unfortunately, I can see her rarely."
"I'm sorry."
Mordou smiled sadly. "A parent would do anything for their child. I wanted peace. I did not wish to continue my father's wars. But I couldn't do otherwise."
"I can understand, though I'm not a parent."
"You have a unique soul, Leonardo."
Suddenly, a soldier opened the door.
"We spotted a spaceship, Your Highness! It looks like a Salamandrian spaceship. We think they are more than one, but they are hiding somehow."
"They use Utrom spaceship," Leo said.
"How do you know that?" Mordou asked.
"We have Utrom friends on the Earth. I'm sure my family asked for their help. The Utroms' spaceships use an invisibility shield. The Salamandrians are just a distraction."
"What shall we do, Your Highness?" the soldier asked.
"I will talk to them. But please, don't shoot at them," Leo answered.
"Alright. Talk to your family, and tell them what the Triceratons are planning to do."
"Your Highness... with all due respect, but aren't the Turtles our enemies, and the Triceratons my allies?"
"Not anymore. But the Triceratons cannot know about this! Understood?"
"Yes, Your Highness!" and with that, he left the office to forward the command.
"Go, Leonardo."
"Aren't you coming too?"
"No. I'm waiting for Zanmoran's call here."
"Alright," Leo started towards the exit, but before he left, he turned back to the rat. "I will make peace between us."
"Be it so."
"Can you make contact with that ship that you spotted?" Leo asked the soldiers in the monitor room.
"We are trying," one answered.
"If you hear this, then answer it. The prince of TurtleLand wishes to speak to you."
At first, only cracking could be heard. But after some moments, a man spoke.
"We are here to rescue the Prince. If you don't give him back, then we will attack your kingdom."
"We don't want to fight," a soldier replied, though he never thought once he has to tell this to the Turtles or the Salamandrians. The soldier turned to Leo. "Speak."
Leo leaned closer to the radio.
"Um, hello, Leonardo's speaking," Leo started a little nervously.
"Did they hurt you, Prince Leonardo?" asked the man.
"No, they didn't. Listen, I really appreciate that you came to rescue me, even you, Salamandrians. So, thanks, really. But don't attack, please."
"They forced you to say this, didn't they?"
"They didn't. Listen, can you contact my family? Can I talk to my father somehow?"
"They didn't notice us," Oberon stated.
"Don't jinx us, son," Aerglo replied as he looked out. They were in the same spaceship with Yugar, Raphael, and Leatherhead.
"When will we finally attack?" Raph asked impatiently.
"Can you hear me K-11? Here's S-86," came the voice from the radio.
"Yes, we can hear you," Oberon responded.
"The Rats spotted us."
"Damn," Raph hit the air.
"And they contacted us."
"What did they want?" Oberon asked.
"They said they didn't want to fight."
"Huh?" Raph looked confused.
"After that, we could talk to Prince Leonardo."
"Is he okay?" they asked in unison.
"Yes. However, he asked us not to attack the Rats. He wants to talk to you, King Aerglo. Can I connect him to this line? I'm afraid, the Rats want to hack our system with this call."
"Was Leonardo forced to say this?" Oberon asked.
"We don't know. Leonardo said he wasn't. Should we risk it?"
"Connect him," Aerglo said.
"Are you sure, Your Majesty?" Yugar questioned.
"Yes."
After a moment, the Salamandrian soldier spoke again. "It's ready."
"Leonardo?" Aerglo asked fearfully.
"Hi, um..."
"Are you okay?" Oberon yelled into the radio immediately.
"Yes, I'm fine. But, uh, don't yell, please."
"What did they do, Leo?" Raph came to the device too.
"Nothing. But I learned a lot of things. Firstly, don't attack them, please. They really don't want to fight. I'm free, so I can go home with you,"
"They just released you?" Oberon asked disbelievingly.
"Um, it's a little complicated. I'll tell you everything, really. But right now, we have bigger problems than the Rats."
"What are you talking about?"
"Connect me to the other lines. I want everybody to hear this."
Yugar did it.
"Okay, then, now everybody hears me, right?" Leo asked.
"Leo!" his brothers and friends exclaimed.
"Leonardo," Master Splinter spoke. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. But please, everybody, listen to me now. I have to tell you something very important."
"What is it, Leo?" Donnie asked.
"Cogolia's kings are on their way to give their ring to Zanmoran in exchange for my life. The Triceratons didn't want their planet, just their ring. And this ring will help them to recreate the Black Hole Generator."
Everybody paled in the spaceships.
"Mordou didn't know about their plan. So... dad," it was the first time that Leo called Aerglo his dad. "Don't blame him. He had his reasons. I'm sure you will understand him. He's not as bad as you think."
"I doubt it," Oberon growled.
"I'm serious, Oberon. If he was that bad, then I couldn't talk to you right now. So... they will recreate the Black Hole Generator and destroy the Earth. And now, we can't go back in time to prevent it. We have to figure something out now!"
Silence filled the area.
"I have an idea," Bishop said. "But we have to act fast."
A/N: HeyHo. I'm alive :D
How was your summer until today?
So, now you can know, who was the mysterious S. Not the Shredder :D I think fireworksinthenight, you thought him to be chapters before.
Let me know your thoughts! Review! ^^
Thanks for reading and reviewing, everybody! 3