Leo frowned as he watched Raph work getting the sail set up. Leo wanted to know how to do it for himself, but Raph wasn't willing to even let him get a closer look, let alone teach him. Leo was willing to learn, if only Raph was willing to show him. But instead Raph did what seemed to be a two-man job on his own, muttering bitterly to himself about how useless and foolish Leo was. What was this guy's problem? Yeah, it was probably stupid to go out on a sailboat when you didn't properly know how to use it, but they didn't exactly have a choice.
Raph's bitterness was making Leo feel pretty irritated himself, and he had a couple of things to say about the foolishness of Raph and Donnie. But while Raph thought that Leo was dumb because he didn't know how to do something that Raph thought was simple and obvious, even though Leo had never been taught, Leo knew that Raph really was a fool, because he'd gone and stolen something that he knew was best to be left alone.
Leo typically tried to not judge people before he got to know them, but he didn't think he liked these two demigods very much.
Raph and Donnie were responsible for everything that had been going wrong back home. April and so many other people on their island were sick. Their fish had left and their agriculture was dying, and it wouldn't be long before everyone in the village was starving. If this trouble had been spreading for five hundred years, then who knows how many islands had fallen victim to the stupidity of these two demigods?
If the two of them were willing to help them to fix things, then Leo would be all for giving them a second chance. Everybody made mistakes, even if some mistakes were worse than others. The important thing though was to try to remedy the situation. If you run from your past mistakes, then in Leo's opinion you just keep on messing up. Why should he forgive someone who had no intention of making things better?
Leo was also annoyed that Raph and Donnie didn't even seem to regret what they had done. They resented the world and the gods for their punishment, not seeming to understand that after what they had done, endangering the world, they deserved to face the consequences. Now they were being given the chance to fix everything, and they just wanted to run and hide again. Leo had no reason to think that these guys were good people, and yet his brother was interacting with them as though they were old friends.
Leo scowled as he watched Raph finish raising the sail on their small boat. "There," Raph put his hand on the mast. "As soon as Donnie and Mikey get back with that wood, we can fix up the boards, and we'll be good to go,"
"Leo! Raph!" Mikey came running towards them. Raph immediately stiffed, seeming to expect the worst.
"Where's Donnie?" Raph growled.
"Oh, he's fine," Mikey slowed down as he approached them. Leo knew that there hadn't been a problem. Mikey was enthusiastic about a lot of things, so just because he was running and shouting that didn't mean that there was necessarily something wrong. No, if there really was a problem, Mikey would have said so already. "He sent me to come get your hatchet, so we can cut down the tree faster."
Raph looked towards where Donnie still was. He seemed to be looking for something, though Leo had a feeling that it wasn't his brother. After a moment Raph turned to Mikey and Leo. "Actually, I don't have it on me right now. Why don't you guys come with me to go get it? We've got a whole bunch of weapons that will probably come in handy, but I won't be able to carry all of it."
"We can help," Mikey said, volunteering Leo without really asking about it. This wasn't the first time that Mikey had dragged Leo into doing something with him. At this point, Leo knew that he wouldn't really be able to talk Mikey out of it, so there wasn't much of a point in arguing.
"Yeah, let's go," Leo sighed. He looked towards the boat one more time before turning towards Raph, who looked annoyed about something.
"Just keep up," Raph said in irritation as he lead the way. Mikey was quick to follow Raph, with Leo bringing up the rear. He wanted to make sure that the demigod didn't do anything. The three of them walked in silence for a bit before Mikey seemed to get tired of the tense quiet.
"So, Raph, Donnie told me about some of the cool things you guys did," Mikey said, glancing quickly back at Leo before turning his attention back to their companion. Raph scowled slightly, though Leo noticed that he seemed more guarded than angry.
Raph eyed Mikey cautiously, trying to judge just what his motivation was when asking the question. Finally Raph seemed convinced that Mikey's question was sincere and without ulterior motives, and he relaxed slightly. "Oh, man, I think we saw and did it all. You island boys have no idea just what is out there in this world of yours."
"Donnie mentioned something about monsters," Mikey said, looking way too excited about it.
Leo frowned. "Monsters?" Sure, it was understandable that if this myth was true, then some of the other myths that Splinter had told them were probably true too, but it was strange to think about. It was one thing to truly comprehend that the world was bigger than just their island, and a whole other thing that there was more to their world than just the world. "If there are so many creatures and monsters, why haven't we seen them before?"
Raph rolled his eyes. "Just because I say that something is a monster doesn't mean that they're all the kind who hide under your beds. Most monsters just mind their own business and hang out in their own dimension. A lot of them just pretend that humans don't exist at all."
"A dimension of monsters?" Mikey sounded in awe, like this was just another bedtime story that Splinter was telling them, not a true story.
"Well, that's what humans call them," Raph said. "A lot of them prefer mutants, or maybe yokai, depending on who you ask."
"Yokai…" Leo had heard Splinter use that word a couple of times. According to Splinter, it was a word that their ancestors had used for demons. He would probably prefer to use the word 'mutant', because monsters demons and yokai brought specific images to Leo's mind. It made him think of scary, evil, man eating creatures. Raph didn't seem to mean anything like that when he talked about them. To him, they were creatures, just like humans.
Leo wanted to meet some mutants for himself. He wanted to really get to know the world around him, to really understand everything, and that meant being familiar with all creatures, not just the mortals.
"Are there any other creatures on this island?" Leo asked. "Or is it just you and you brother?"
Raph's expression darkened. "It's basically just us," Raph roughly pushed aside some leaves that were in their way. Mikey quickly stepped in and stopped the leaves from snapping back too harshly. Mikey guided the leaves as they fell back into place as Raph stormed on ahead towards a cliff at the center of the island. Once Mikey had made sure that the plants were unharmed, he ran to catch up to the demigod.
They walked in silence for a minute before Raph sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "...Actually, a couple of times I've seen a few birds around the island. There was a hawk that came to see me once, and an albatross," A small smile slipped onto Raph's face. "I've mostly seen this one pigeon around. He always seems to come see me when I'm at my lowest."
"A pigeon?" Mikey frowned slightly. "What was it doing all the way out here? I didn't think they were the kind of bird who made long journeys over the ocean,"
Raph shrugged. "Probably not, but I'm not questioning it. I was just glad for the company." They approached the cliff and Leo noticed that there was a cave there. The cave didn't look natural, it looked more like it had been carved right out of the cliffside. Considering how long Raph and Donnie had been here, and the fact that they were something more than human, Leo thought it was actually entirely possible.
Raph paused in front of the cave. He seemed reluctant about something. Raph turned and looked toward Mikey, his gaze lingering on the Heart of Miwa. Leo didn't like the look in Raph's eyes. He's seen that same look just before Raph had thrown the necklace out in the ocean. Raph seemed scared, to the point that he was just seconds away from doing something hasty that Leo probably wouldn't like.
After a long, tense moment Raph's expression hardened. He seemed to come to a decision. Leo just wished that he knew what that decision was. "Come on," Raph turned and gestured into the cave. "My hatchet's in there. If you grab that, I can go get some other stuff that I've got around here." He was up to something, and Leo didn't trust him. Mikey seemed perfectly content with Raph's suggestion, and he pulled Leo into the cave with him.
As much as Leo didn't want to let Raph out of his sight, he did appreciate that he was alone with his brother again. Some privacy was nice, and Leo had a few things that he wanted to go over with Mikey. "Do you really trust these guys?"
"Well, yeah," Mikey said easily, like he hadn't even considered the alternative. "They seem nice," When Leo raised an eyebrow at him he laughed slightly. "I mean, they're nice to each other, at least. They seem to really care about each other, and I think the best way to tell what someone is really like is looking at their relationship with their family." Leo didn't exactly agree. Family was important, there was no doubt about that, but Leo imagined that there were loads of good people who didn't have all that good of relationships with their family, and people who weren't all that good at all but had fantastic relationships with their family.
"They stole the Heart of Miwa," Leo reminded his brother. "The world is in danger because of them,"
"I don't think they knew what would happen," Mikey said. "And Splinter told us that lots of people were trying to steal the heart, remember? Donnie said the same thing."
"That doesn't make it any better," Leo hissed. All that showed was that Raph and Donnie seemed to think that it was okay to something bad just because they thought other people were going to do it too. Doing something because of peer pressure didn't mean that you suddenly had good intentions."
"Actually, I think it does," Mikey said, the sternness in his voice actually made Leo pause. Mikey wasn't often so insistent on something unless he was passionate about it. "Donnie also told me why they stole the Heart of Miwa, so that they could give the power to mortals and people like us. The yokai and mutants though, they might have used that power in ways that would hurt humanity."
Leo frowned slightly in confusion. "Why would they care about humanity?" Leo knew that Raph and Donnie were demigods, which meant they were part of both worlds, that of the gods and that of the mortals. And it sounded like they were also connected to the world of the mutants. If they were a part of everything, why would they choose humanity over the others?
"I don't know," Mikey admitted. "We can always ask them though. They seem pretty eager to explain things. Our legends portray them as villains, and they don't really want to be seen that way for all time."
Leo wasn't all that eager to give these guys the benefit of the doubt. He didn't want to give them the chance to make excuses, but he really did want to get some answers.
"Look, I don't see them as 'villains'," Leo said, and he meant it. They made some mistakes that he wasn't very happy with, but Mikey was right, they shouldn't be defined by that. "But we need them to help us, and they don't seem to want anything to do with the Heart of Miwa."
"I think they'll be more willing than you think," Mikey grinned as he lead the way deeper into the cave where there were a couple of makeshift beds and boxes. This must be where Donnie and Raph essentially lived. "Donnie seemed to at least be thinking about it,"
"And if we get Donnie on board, then he can help us to convince Raph," Leo grinned. This just might work afterall.
Mikey looked on the beds and in the boxes. He was shuffling through everything, getting more desperate and frantic as he went. After a moment Mikey turned back towards Leo, a confused expression on his face. "Uh, I don't see any hatchet in here. You think Raph misplaced it?"
Leo narrowed his eyes. "I think Raph lead us here on purpose." He grabbed his brother's hand and pulled him back to the entrance of the cave. "We're getting out of here, now!"
"What's the rush?" Mikey stumbled slightly as Leo practically pulled him along. "What do you think is going to happen? Raph wouldn't trap us or anything like that." Just as Mikey said this, they heard a rumbling sound ahead of them. It sounded like something was falling. Leo scowled and sped up. They were so close to getting out of there, they just needed another second.
"Watch out!" Mikey pulled back so harshly that they both fell to the ground. Just moments after they fell, before either of them had the chance to get up, rocks began to fall and cover the entrance to the cave.
"No!" Leo moved to get up, but Mikey held him down until the falling rocks settled. Only then did Mikey's grip loosen, and Leo immediately got up and ran to the now blocked entrance. There were a couple of larger rocks and boulders near the bottom. Above that it was mostly just dirt and smaller rocks. It wouldn't be that hard to move out of the way, it would probably just take a few minutes to move things aside enough for them to get out of there, but Leo was worried that those few minutes was too long. "Raph! What did you do?!"
"Raph?" Mikey joined him at the cave in. "He...he wouldn't…" A flicker of doubt flashed in Mikey's eyes. "Raph, you out there?"
They heard shuffling just outside the cave. "I'm not staying on this island for another second. I'm not going to have anything to do with that stupid Heart," Raph growled. It sounded like he punched the rocks. "And I'm not going to let you try to turn my brother against me."
"We don't want to turn anybody against anybody," Mikey said desperately. "Can't we all just talk about this?"
"Let us out of here, Raph!" Leo shouted as he quickly tried to get the dirt and rocks out of the way. He was not in the mood to sit down and talk about anything. Raph was trying to abandon them on the island. "You can't complain about being stuck on this island and then turn around and try to abandon us here."
Raph was quiet for a moment. "...The ocean likes you guys, it'll help you get away from this Hell."
Mikey's expression fell. He seemed sincerely upset, though Leo had the feeling that his brother wasn't upset with Raph, but upset for him, which was incredibly frustrating. Raph was trying to trap them here, Mikey shouldn't be feeling sympathy for him.
"Look, I'm not going to pretend to understand how it feels to be the demigod of the ocean and seeing the ocean favoring two random strangers," Mikey said in a quiet, sympathetic tone.
There was another sound of Raph punching the rocks, much harsher this time. Some dirt and smaller rocks fell. "Don't talk like you know anything about me," Raph growled harshly, his tone putting Leo on edge. He didn't like hearing anybody talking to his brother in that way.
"But we can help you," Mikey continued. "All of us can help each other."
"Your brother doesn't trust me," Raph said, and he had a point there. Leo didn't trust him. "And I don't trust anybody except Donnie." There was quiet for a moment. "You guys will be fine," Raph's tone was almost gentle now, like he felt like his hand was being forced here, that he didn't want to leave them here, but he didn't feel like he had any other choice. "I have to look out for myself and my brother, and I'm sorry, but the number one worst way to do that is by letting us get dragged into a suicidal, thankless mission." For a demigod, Leo didn't think he had ever heard anybody sound quite so human.
Leo almost felt understanding and even empathy for Raph. After all, Leo would also do anything for his brother. But when Leo heard the faint sound of footsteps walking away from them he remembered just why he had been so mad at Raph in the first place. Yes, Raph felt conflicted, and he just wanted to look out for his brother, but that didn't excuse the fact that he had trapped them in a cave and was trying to abandon them on this island.
"Come on!" Leo shouted in frustration and began to work more frantically to move the stones. Mikey soon joined him. They had to get out of this cave before Raph and Donnie sailed off without them. Leo liked to think that Donnie wasn't going to be okay with just leaving them here, but he didn't really know, and he wasn't about to take any chances.
Leo understood that Raph and Donnie were afraid, but he was feeling pretty scared too. Leo was afraid that he and Mikey would fail without Raph and Donnie's help, and if they failed, he was afraid that the world would end. As much as he didn't want to rely on these guys, Leo didn't have much of a choice. They needed the help of these demigods, whether they wanted to provide that help or not.
As impossible and daunting as it seemed, they would get off this island and return the Heart of Miwa...all four of them. First though, they had to get out of this cave.
A/N: This story just keeps on surprising me. First it takes me six chapters to introduce two of our main characters, and now I have more than 10,000 words that take place on a little island...A location that, in the movie Moana, they're at for about five minutes. Makes me wonder just how long this story is going to end up being.