Author's Note:

To the Guest, because it's never too late to reply to a kind review XD: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed. :)

To Eris: Thank you so much! I hope the answers will be satisfying to you. :D

On the Road

Leonardo watched the fire trails crossing the night sky.

They had been traveling in the desert for three days, and the four firebenders of their little group had got into the habit of training at twilight, after the day's ride and before they all went to sleep. Or more precisely, Splinter and Casey trained Raphael and Slash.

It was obvious to Leonardo that Raphael had progressed a lot in his absence. However, in comparison to the more experienced firebenders, it was just as obvious that he still had a lot to learn.

It was also Leonardo's case, of course, except Leonardo couldn't train with April the way he would have wanted to. Water was too valuable a resource while they were still deep into the desert.

Still, it was frustrating him.

Leonardo sighed. Now that he had lived on an island, he was fully aware that the desert wasn't an environment made for him. He missed the ocean, the deceptive calm of that huge mass of water and its hidden power. Here, between the sand and the scorching sun, he had to spare his strength to the point he barely talked.

But his family lived in the heart of that desert, and he missed them more than anything else. He would return to them, and to the place that, deep inside his heart, he still named home.

It didn't mean that he wasn't anxious about it, though. There were too many questions, too many unknowns.

How would he and April be welcomed? Would Bishop already be at the oasis? Would he have executed his plan?

Would they have to fight him?

Would they have to fight someone scarier than him?

Leonardo held a grudge against Bishop after the man had abandoned his twin inside a volcano, but it didn't make him a sworn enemy of his people. Not in the way the Shredder had been.

The Shredder. The images of the battle he had seen in the water were still vivid in Leonardo's mind. The violence, the deaths… The Shredder's features, that he had seen for the first time and that were still so familiar.

I have to tell Raph. He has a right to know. He's the Shredder's descendant just like me…

But Leonardo hadn't found the right words, that evening on the beach, and no opportunity had presented itself since then. He was sparing his saliva during the day, and at night, around the campfire, there were too many attentive ears for even trying.

And tonight, this lie by omission was weighing on Leonardo heavier than ever. Maybe it was because he was getting used to the desert once more, and he didn't feel like he was going to collapse before they even set up camp, but his doubts and guilt were nagging at him in a way that was becoming hard to ignore.

Leonardo shifted, hoping that a better posture would help him relax. It was no use torturing himself like this, he knew that much.

"Is there something on your mind, Leonardo?"

Leonardo glanced at April, sitting next to him. There was a lot on his mind, and he was certain she knew it. The question was meant as an opening, should he want to make conversation.

Until tonight, he had settled for watching the display offered by the firebenders in silence before going to bed. This was how exhausted he had been. But now…

Maybe talking about innocuous topics wouldn't hurt. Maybe it would even help him to refocus his mind on something else than his dissimulation.

Leonardo tilted his head to indicate the firebenders. They were practicing their shields, Raphael and Slash being challenged by Casey and Splinter.

"I was just wondering… We need water to waterbend. They don't need fire. Why?"

Leonardo hadn't missed Slash's smirk when Splinter had suggested they all trained, the first time, and April hadn't done the same. Since then, it was like Slash considered the waterbenders inferior for needing a water source to use their bending.

At least he doesn't seem to consider us as his enemies, Leonardo thought, resigned. That's a start.

April smiled at him. "Fire is energy, and energy is everywhere. But water is everywhere, too."

Leonardo watched her, his curiosity piqued.

"For example, there is water in your body. Should you need it, you can use your sweat and saliva to waterbend. There is also water in the air, in some environments more than in others."

Leonardo frowned. "But that's not going to be very efficient, right?"

"It depends on what you're doing with it." April moved her hands and turned a droplet of her saliva into a sharp ice needle. She showed it to Leonardo. "Used efficiently, this could incapacitate an opponent, and even kill him."

Leonardo considered the needle with some doubt. It was by far not as impressive as a fireball. But if April said it was efficient…

He mimicked her moves to create his very own ice needle. It was sharp and shone a light blue. The color reminded him of the crystal Raphael had given him, the one that had been Bishop's.

Leonardo had wanted to ask April about it. Now felt like a good time to do it.

"April?"

"Yes?"

Leonardo took the crystal from one of his pockets and showed it to her.

"Raph gave this to me. Bishop left it behind him in the volcano. It reacts to waterbending. What do you know about it?"

April took the crystal delicately to better look at it, her face showing how fascinated she was.

"Such crystals are extraordinarily rare," she whispered. "Most of them were lost eons ago, as well as most knowledge about them."

On April's palm, the crystal was pulsating softly.

"Legends say that these crystals were a gift from the water spirits to the waterbenders, that they enhance the power of whoever carries them."

Leonardo looked at the crystal like it was the first time. "Have you ever met a water spirit?"

April shook her head. "No. They had already vanished from the earth when I was born, as did the fire, earth and air spirits. Nobody knows why."

"Oh." Leonardo considered the crystal, a lump in his throat. April was a master, she could use that crystal to her advantage, while Leonardo… well, Leonardo found it beautiful, but that was it.

"You should have it," he whispered.

April smiled and gave it back to him.

"No, keep it. It's not the first time it finds its way to you, is it?"

Leonardo opened wide eyes. He hadn't told April in which circumstances exactly he had left his home.

"How do you know?"

"Splinter told me," April said, her eyes twinkling.

Leonardo blushed. He hadn't realized that his teachers would talk about him behind his back, even if it made sense. He wasn't sure he liked it.

The temperature suddenly dropped, and he realized that Splinter, Casey, Slash and Raphael had stopped training. It was time to go to bed.

Leonardo put the crystal back into his pocket, his mind filled with new questions.

One of them bothered him more than the others.

What else had Splinter told April?

Raphael was riding in silence, keeping a watchful eye on Leonardo.

It was unlikely that his twin would disappear out of nowhere, but it had already happened once. Raphael wasn't going to take any chances.

He would have liked to talk to Leonardo, because he had this feeling his twin was hiding something from him and he. Hated. That. Besides, he was worried about their family, and whom better than Leonardo could he have shared that concern with?

However, it was obvious that Leonardo wasn't up to talking, and that he would rather be hiding in the cool shadows of his favorite cave rather than riding in the midday sun, so Raphael kept quiet.

At least he could exhaust his frustration during training, each evening.

Raphael sighed. If only they were already at the oasis. He was sure that given the chance, he would get Leonardo to open up to him.

He wished they could ride faster, but exhausting the horses would only lead to them walking the rest of the way.

Raphael suddenly felt watched, and he turned around to see Casey looking at him. Curious, he slowed down his horse so he would ride next to the warrior.

"Don't worry. He was already like that on the way in," Casey said, nodding towards Leonardo.

"Yeah, well. I can't say I like it," Raphael muttered.

He was pretty sure that Leonardo couldn't hear them, and barely hesitated before asking Casey.

"How was he like on the island? He told me he loved it."

Casey smiled fondly. "Oh yes! It was obvious he enjoyed it a lot, except that time when he saw the Shredder in a vision, of course."

Raphael almost started.

"What?"

"He felt pretty worn out after it. April said it was normal, that he had used a lot of energy. But he seemed really down to me." Casey scratched his chin. "Apart from that, he was thriving."

"You don't say," Raphael whispered, narrowing his eyes dangerously. Leonardo hadn't mentioned anything like that to him.

Casey must have realized that something was wrong, because he watched Raphael sheepishly.

"He didn't tell you?"

"Nope," Raphael said.

And to say he didn't like it was an understatement.

"When is our next break?" he added innocently.

Casey frowned. "Well, we need to refill our water supply, so whenever one of our waterbenders find a source, I guess. Why?"

"Just asking. And, Casey?"

"Yes?"

"When they do, can you ask Slash to help with the digging? While Leo and I, uh… Dig a respectable distance away. Just in case we find water there too."

Casey smirked. "Sure."

Raphael gave him a grateful smile. It didn't last long, though; he was too pissed off for that.

So Leonardo was keeping such important stuff from him?

This had to stop now.

"Water. Here," Leonardo whispered, pointing at the ground.

He was the first to dismount his horse. A water source meant that he would be able to drink to his content; a welcome reprieve in their journey.

Adjusting the piece of cloth that was protecting his head from the sun, he began to dig.

A hand on his arm made him stop.

"Hey, Leo, why don't you let Slash and Casey do it this time?" Raphael suggested.

Leonardo watched his twin, surprised, but Raphael wasn't done.

"I'm sure we can find another water source a little further away. There is never enough water, right?"

Leonardo raised an eyebrow. So his brother thought himself a waterbender now?

But Raphael had grabbed his sleeve and didn't look like he was going to let go, so Leonardo shrugged and stood up to follow him.

Raphael led him a respectable distance away from the others before he dropped to the ground.

"I think we should try it here."

"There is no water here," Leonardo croaked, rolling his eyes.

Raphael glanced at him. "Oh yeah?"

Leonardo nodded.

"Well, maybe I'm not looking for water."

Leonardo frowned at him, but Raphael wasn't fazed.

"Maybe I'm looking for answers."

It took Leonardo several seconds to understand that Raphael seemed dead serious about having a conversation right here, right now.

He pointed at his throat with a deadpan expression, hoping that Raphael would understand the gesture.

Raphael did.

"You don't have to talk," he said. "Just answer me. One nod for a yes, one shake of your head for a no. Easy, right?"

Now Leonardo was beginning to feel really uneasy. What had gotten under Raphael's skin?

"And dig," Raphael said, glancing at the others.

Leonardo sighed. Watching their immediate surroundings, he pointed at another patch of sand. If they were going to dig, there better be water as a reward.

Raphael made no difficulty to change his spot, and the two of them began digging, almost forehead to forehead.

"So Leo," Raphael began. "If there was anything on your mind, you would tell me, right?"

Leonardo gave him a nervous glance before he nodded once.

"Because I would," Raphael went on. "And I have. I have told you everything that had happened to me, down to the last detail. And you?"

Leonardo gulped. He hated feeling cornered, but he wasn't going to shy away from this.

He shook his head.

"Thought so," Raphael muttered.

He dug in silence for a while.

"I'm not mad," he finally pointed out.

Leonardo gave him a skeptical glance.

"Okay, I'm a little mad," Raphael admitted. "You would be too, right?"

Leonardo sighed softly as he nodded.

Raphael nodded too, satisfied with that answer. "So you're going to tell me everything, right?"

Leonardo hesitated a second too much and Raphael glared at him.

His twin blushed as he nodded vigorously.

"Good," Raphael said. "Because I didn't like learning from Casey that you had a vision about the Shredder. Like, not at all."

Leonardo bit his lower lip.

"I'm sorry, Raph," he whispered.

These words needed to be said, no matter how thirsty he was.

Raphael felt his resolve waver as he saw how miserable Leonardo looked.

"Apology accepted," he said gently.

They were reaching the wooden planks protecting a well. Raphael glanced at the others, and noted that they were already refilling their goatskins. He took the one he had brought, attached it to a rope and lowered it into the well. He didn't say anything else until Leonardo had drunk several gulps of water from it.

"So what did you see?"

Leonardo breathed a deep, deep sigh. "The final battle with the Shredder. Raph, he's… he was really powerful. He killed so many of our people."

Raphael waited for his twin to drink some more water before he asked his next question.

"So why didn't you tell me?"

"I… I wasn't sure how…" Leonardo fell silent.

Raphael crossed his arms, aware of the fact that Leonardo wasn't done. "I suggest using words. Usually it works. What else did you see?"

"I…" Leonardo's fists clenched as sorrow painted itself on his face. "He was looking… he was looking like…"

Raphael restrained himself from shaking his twin so he would talk faster. Instead, he refilled the goatskin so Leonardo could drink more.

"He was looking like what?"

Leonardo watched him in the eye. "Like… Like Mom. Raph, the Shredder is our ancestor."

Raphael opened his mouth, but found himself unable to talk. The Shredder. Their ancestor?

It was… it was disgusting. Repulsive. Although it did explain Leonardo's powers, so unusual for their family.

"Also, Splinter thinks he was reaching out to me in my dreams," Leonardo added. "That's another reason why he didn't want me to stay in the oasis."

Raphael blinked, once. Twice. Thrice.

"Okay. Now I've told you everything." Leonardo smiled. "Phew. I do feel a lot better. Thanks, Raph."

Raphael took a deep, deep breath. Then he grabbed Leonardo by his shirt and hugged him.

"Next time you keep something like this from me, I'll nominate you for the role of moving target in our next fireball training," he said very calmly to Leonardo's hair.

"Sorry. I'm so sorry. Did I tell you how sorry I was?" Leonardo whispered.

"You better be," Raphael grumbled, tightening his grip on his brother.

He wasn't letting him go any time soon. Maybe never. Who knew what this idiot would get himself into if Raphael did?

"Raph, what do we tell the others?" Leonardo asked, not letting go either.

"I…" Raphael bit his lip. He had no idea. He needed time to process the news. "We have the rest of the journey to think about it, right?"

He felt Leonardo nod in his shoulder.

Splinter watched the two brothers from afar, stroking his beard. He had a feeling that Leonardo had finally opened up to somebody about what had been bothering him.

It rejoiced him. He had tried to talk to the boy before they left the island, but Leonardo had dodged his questions and Splinter hadn't wanted to press.

Now he could only hope that Leonardo would become more receptive to sharing his concerns with other people. They couldn't afford to keep secrets between themselves, not when they were quite possibly at the dawn of a battle.

Splinter knew all too well how devastating the truth could be when revealed at the worst possible moment.