**This Story Contains Tcest**
Pairings: Raphael/Donatello, Leonardo/Michelangelo, Raphael/Michelangelo, Michelangelo/Donatello, Leonardo/Donatello
Info: Alternate Universe, Royalty, Elemental Magic, Action/Adventure, Romance

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Chapter Seven: Perceptions and Projections

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Raphael watched the emperor's son and the prince of water disappear into the trees with a critical eye. Leonardo had that look on his face. A look Raph had been on the receiving end of many times before and it never meant anything good, at least not for Raph, and the altercation that almost always followed usually left him with a fresh bruise or two and a bad taste in his mouth.

"Ya' don't think Leo's gonna...?"

He trailed off as Mikey looked up from the ingredients he was preparing for their dinner, a concerned frown replacing the happy excitement in his eyes.

"No... of course not." Mikey shook his head, as if he was banishing the thought, a smile replacing the frown. "He's only like that with you."

"Yeah, I'm not so sure about that."

Leonardo was a control freak, always pushing others to do things his way or no way at all, and this stunk up and down of Leo forcing Donatello into a position where he wouldn't have much leverage.

In fact, the more he thought about it the more he was sure that was exactly what was about to happen. He fought back the sudden intense urge to go after them and warn the prince of water what he might be walking into, but he didn't want to leave Mikey alone in the dark on their first night, and besides, Donatello needed to prove himself somehow. If he couldn't handle Leonardo on his own for long enough to gather firewood, then he was doomed, with or without Raph's help.

One thing was for sure though, if these trials were meant to teach them how to work together or some shit like that then he was not going to let that blowhard of a prince push him around like he always tried to do. They were equals here, the game board had been reset. After today there would be no more deferment to the emperor's son. They were all in this together, come hell or high water, and Leonardo was just like them now.

Best case scenario, Donatello would take the pompous windbag down a peg or two.

Not that he had any idea of whether or not the prince of water was actually capable of doing that. He was a mystery they would all have to be very careful with, and now that Raph had some time to calm down and think, he was starting to put a few things together that weren't making a whole lot of sense.

The moment Donatello had appeared Raph knew he had seen him before, but it wasn't his face that he recognized. It was the feel of him, the magic buzzing across his nerve endings that was different from anything he'd ever felt from Mikey or Leo. It made the tips of his fingers tingle, like they would fall off if he didn't reach out and grab on and pull Donatello in as close as he could get him.

He'd felt that strange tugging sensation before, but at the time he'd dismissed the feeling because of where he was and how much he had been drinking. Now, however, he could clearly see it for what it was.

The warm body in his arms, the soft olive toned skin, the dark brown eyes… somehow it had been Donatello in the glade the night of the mask. He just didn't understand how... or why. Why hadn't the prince of water said who he was? Why had he been there at all?

As Raph understood it, the people of the Kingdom of Varuna had always been reclusive, but over the last twenty five years that odd behavior had been taken to its extreme. He wasn't alone in feeling the absence where three should have been four, but all things considered he thought he was lucky enough to grow up with Mikey at his side. The close relationship their fathers shared meant they spent a lot of time going back and forth between each other's kingdoms. And even though Leonardo spent less time traveling beyond the borders of his own lands, they were still as close as could be expected of the crown princes, even with their clashing personalities.

Throughout his life Raphael had often thought about the water kingdom and what it might be like, of the prince that should have grown up alongside them all. But the subject was never discussed outside of whispered rumor and made up tales and whenever he would try to ask his father about it, Kaimon would grow distant and tell Raph to go away with a far off look on his face. It was a mystery that had shadowed them all their entire lives.

Now that mysterious prince was a shadow disappearing into the twilight only feet from where he sat, and Raphael just did not understand how Donatello could have been in his kingdom that night, hiding behind a stone encrusted mask with grass covering his shoulders, dancing and drinking and so far away from where he was supposed to be.

It didn't make any sense.

Raph huffed out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and ground the heels of his hands into his eyes, trying to rub away the frustration. Mikey was chopping up a few vegetables, adding them to a large pot hung over the fire. It was already starting to bubble and the delicious smell of the simmering stew inside it made Raph's stomach rumble with hunger.

The younger noticed him looking, oblivious to Raph's inner turmoil, and eyed him appreciatively with a sly smile before returning to his work. Raphael was tired, with barely enough energy for Mikey's flirting, but he managed to return the look with an indulgent smirk of his own and reached for a nearby wine skin. The full cup he poured disappeared quickly, drinking down the vintage in one long swallow.

Finally starting to relax, the liquid warming his chilled skin from the inside out, he poured himself another cup and watched Mikey for a moment longer, wondering how the prince of earth always found it so easy to be lighthearted and friendly with everyone he met. Complete strangers never failed to give Raph a wide berth, but they drifted to Mikey without hesitation, like they just knew he could be trusted.

Even before, in his confused state, Raph had seen how Mikey had immediately latched onto Donatello and how quickly the prince of water had responded in kind, like they already knew each other.

Raphael blinked, suddenly remembering one of the first things Donatello had said.

"What did he mean, when he said ya' asked him not to be late?"

Mikey looked over at him with confused eyes that quickly changed to a tolerant smile. "He was in Sucellus. Remember? That night at the bathhouse when we chased him into the garden. You didn't believe me, but he was there. I talked to him for a bit before he left."

Had that really happened? Raph remembered drinking too much wine and falling asleep with his head propped up at an awkward angle against the stone lip of the small pool they had all to themselves. He woke up with a crick in his neck and pruney toes.

"I thought ya' were just goofin' off, like ya' always do."

"Nope." Mikey said simply with a quirk on his lips. "Doesn't matter though, he only stayed for a few minutes."

That settled it then. If Donatello was in that garden like Mikey said he was, then he had been in Agni the night of the mask. The last of his doubt disappeared as he accepted the truth only now Raphael was more confused than ever.

"I saw him... at the Wildfire Masquerade... he was there."

"I know." Mikey said without even the slightest surprise. "Man, I'm still bummed I had to miss it this year. Did you have that guy that swallows the fire again? I love that guy."

"I just don't understand why he didn't tell me who he was?" Raph mumbled, looking down at the dirt between his feet.

Michelangelo didn't respond and Raph didn't feel like saying anything else. He watched a small beetle crawl across the ground between his heels and listened to the night crickets chirping from the trees.

After a minute a familiar pair of knees slid into his line of sight and Raph sat back to give him room, looking up to see a sympathetic look in Mikey's eyes.

"What would you have done? What would your father have done, if he had just blurted out his name?"

Raph didn't understand the question. "Nothin'. We wouldn't have..."

"Think about it, Raph." Mikey pressed gently. "Do you really think your father would have just offered him a seat at the table like he was an expected guest? 'Welcome to Agni, Prince Donatello. How's life? Oh, and what's your father been up to all these years?'... You know how your father gets whenever anyone even mentions King Archus. Donnie was protecting himself. He wanted to see the world that's been kept from him and he wanted to do it quietly. Like we would've done, if it were us."

"Maybe..."

An impish smile twisted the corners of Mike's mouth as he shuffled on his knees, scooting in until there was only a sliver of space between them. He slid his hands with determined pressure along Raph's thighs from his knees to his hips where he stopped and gently massaged the hard muscles, leaning in to whisper against Raphael's lips.

"He wasn't there to make trouble. He was just looking for a good time."

Mikey's fingers worked their magic, causing a shiver to shoot down Raph's spine that he felt in his tail. Knowing what his friend was getting at, Raph shook his head in amusement. "What are ya' doin'?"

"Making trouble..." Mikey said, leaving a slow, lingering kiss on his lips. "I missed you."

Raph chuckled. "It's only been three weeks."

"Three weeks is a long time." Mikey said with a pout, his tongue darting out to tease at Raph's mouth.

Their kiss was familiar and just a little desperate, each of them soaking it in like they hadn't had a drink all day. Mikey's warm arms slithered around his waist and in a blink every previous thought was erased from Raph's mind. With an indulgent smile he leaned forward, pressing firmly into Mikey's mouth, reaching up to wrap the orange tails of his mask around his fingers, tugging gently so the smaller turtle had to crane his neck. A happy hum came from deep within Mikey's throat as he curled his fingers around the edge of Raph's plastron, trailing them upward along his sides.

Raphael barely noticed the wandering digits though, focused as he was on exploring the inner depths of Mikey's mouth with his tongue. They were good like this and always had been. He missed it when they weren't together.

Raph broke their kiss and moved downward, drawing a moan from Mikey as he nibbled on his neck, making the younger squirm a little and press in closer.

"You're gonna let dinner burn." Raph murmured against the sea green skin.

"Maybe I'm not hungry anymore..." Mikey mewled, gasping as Raph's teeth scraped along his collarbone.

Maybe dinner would have burned. Raph certainly wasn't thinking about it anymore. They were so wrapped up in each other, that they almost didn't hear the stomping footsteps returning quickly from within the woods.

~*~.~*~

Leaving the safety of the fire behind them, they walked into the dark following the course of the river. The illumination from the torch barely provided enough light for Donatello to see the path, but he didn't really need it, the moon glimmered on the water to his right, casting its silver light just far enough into the trees to show him the way.

Leonardo had positioned himself a few steps just behind his left shoulder as soon as they'd entered the trees and Don was trying not to read too much into it. It was a classic tactic, normally used to intimidate an opponent, but it could also be used to gather information or take stock of a situation before confronting it.

When he turned to glance back over his shoulder he could see the orange light from the flame flickering on the hilts of the twin katana strapped across Leonardo's shell. They were beautiful weapons. Totally unnecessary for the task of gathering firewood, but beautiful. Don wasn't sure what to think of the implication being made by those blades, but he decided that for the moment he would allow Leonardo to maneuver him into the position he preferred, a small sacrifice for the sake of making a good first impression.

For the first hundred yards neither of them spoke and Don quickly took note of how silent the prince of air was, not even the leaves crunched under his feet. If it wasn't for the tendrils of their magic reaching out to tentatively touch, he might have completely forgotten that Leonardo was even there. It was eerie and, if he was perfectly honest, it was starting to make him uncomfortable.

Don grimaced, he couldn't let something as simple as Leonardo walking behind him color his thoughts and impressions. That wouldn't do either of them any good. Instead, he tried to refocus his concentration on himself and the forest surrounding them. There was an owl softly hooting somewhere deep in the trees and the sound calmed his nerves. It reminded him of the forests he'd grown up in back home and he reached out to brush his hands against the trees as he walked past them. A small comfort, in a tense situation.

"This forest is familiar. It's so much like the wood that surrounds my castle in Varuna." Don said quietly, thinking to fill the silence with small talk.

"I wouldn't know."

Don sighed, the skin on the back of his neck prickling at hearing the terse reply. He was racking his brain trying to think of what he could say to put the prince of air at ease.

"Listen, I know this is strange, for all of us, but I... we... are finally here, we're together, and I hope we can..."

The words died on his lips as the trees directly in front of him suddenly moved, lifting out of the earth by their roots and scuttling to the side with a rumbling creak that shook the ground. A clearing opened up in front of them, revealing the bare forest floor littered with dead and dry tree limbs. Leonardo almost bumped into his shell as Don stopped short.

They stood and stared for a moment while the trees settled back into the soil, before Don finally whispered, "What you may need, the spirits will provide."

"Yes, I've read the scroll." Leonardo huffed, sliding around Don and setting the torch he was carrying up against a rock. He picked up a nearby limb and began breaking it into smaller pieces.

Donatello followed suit and after a few more moments with only the sound of cracking wood to break the awkward silence, he finally decided to try again.

"You know, we really don't need to pretend like you asked me out here just to gather firewood." Don began in a voice that he hoped sounded friendly.

"I didn't think you would even be here at all." Leonardo replied, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"Well I am." Don said, lifting his chin. "And happy to be. We've all waited a long time for this."

"How would you know what we've been waiting for?" Leonardo said with a sharp glance in Don's direction.

The barb stung, deflating his momentary courage, the ice in the prince of air's eyes enough to make him consider retreating into his shell. Instead he swallowed and turned away, concentrating on gathering the wood so Leonardo wouldn't see the hurt on his face.

He should have expected this. He had known they would have questions and understood there would be a degree of caution as they came to know each other better, but the intensity and coldness in Leonardo's words was surprising and Don wasn't quite sure how to respond.

"I don't presume to know anything about you or what you've thought about me before coming into this." He began again, slowly, keeping his back turned. "All I can offer is my assurance that I am not your enemy, if that's what you fear. You can ask me anything. I'll answer your questions as honestly as I can. It's my hope that we can come to a place where there won't need to be any secrets between us."

"We're not the ones that have secrets to keep."

Another clipped response and Don shook his head, a sense of dread settling over him as he realized that Leonardo wasn't giving him even an inch to work with. It was really starting to seem like meeting Michelangelo first may have given him a false sense of security about how they all would receive him.

His hope that a lifetime of separation would be easily left behind them was dwindling rapidly under the weight of Leonardo's cold demeanor and Donatello felt unexpected annoyance flare in his chest. It appeared that the prince of air had already made up his mind about him and that wasn't fair. What had he done to deserve being treated this way? What did Leonardo think he was going to do?

"Michelangelo doesn't seem to be in such a hurry to learn all of my secrets." Don quipped.

"Michelangelo is naive. Too quick to trust. One day someone is going to slip a knife through his ribs and he won't even see the blade."

Leonardo made the claim so quietly Don almost didn't hear it. Yet, it was said with such confidence that he was puzzled. From what little he knew of Michelangelo it seemed that the prince of earth was smart and more than capable of handling himself.

Don turned on his heel, ready to question the statement, but as his eyes landed on Leonardo he froze in stunned disbelief, a numb wave tingling all the way down to his toes.

The prince of air stood in the middle of the clearing, his feet planted wide with one katana unsheathed. It was pointed at the ground and the blue banded turtle's posture was relaxed, but the threat was there all the same. Don's eyes locked on the blade watching the moonlight and torchlight glint on its highly polished surface.

Donatello wasn't too proud to admit that the look Leonardo aimed at him then sliced through him straight to his bones. In the flickering darkness it almost looked like the emperor himself was staring him down through those shadowed hazel orbs.

They held, unmoving for so long Don lost track of time, a million thoughts racing through his mind until finally he settled on the most obvious one.

"Is this you? Or your father?" Don straightened, trying to remain calm under the sudden storm that was the prince of air.

Perhaps he had misinterpreted his encounter with Splinter. Maybe the short conversation he'd had with the rat had been a way to make him lower his guard, to give Leonardo the opportunity he needed to preemptively strike. It wouldn't surprise him at least, knowing what kind of man the emperor was.

Leonardo pursed his lips, answering with narrowed eyes. "They mean the world to me, and I will protect them with my life."

"You believe me to be a threat?" Don countered.

"Are you?"

He knew that Leonardo was testing him, trying to gauge his reactions, and because of that he needed to be very careful with his responses. This would likely be his only chance to convince the emperor's son that he meant them no harm.

With a slow intake of breath he stared calmly into Leonardo's eyes. "No."

Leonardo said nothing, staying still as a statue, staring through Donatello like he was seeing into his very soul. But Don had no intention of standing idly by, nor would he accept being treated like this without cause. The only play he had left was to call Leonardo's bluff.

"If you're going to cut me down, then do it. I'm unarmed." He made an open gesture with his hands, trying to ignore his heart hammering in his chest. "But something tells me I'm not wrong in thinking you have more honor than that."

Don saw the flash in Leonardo's eyes and knew he'd hit the right nerve. A blink was the prince of air's only movement before he spun the katana in his palm and expertly slid it back into its sheath. He otherwise stayed in place, crossing his arms over his plastron and staring at Don from under his eye ridges.

"Why did your father lock down Varuna's borders?"

And there it was. Don couldn't help the small smile that played across his lips. "Straight to the point. I can respect that."

Leonardo raised his chin, not backing down. "I see no reason to stumble through small talk. There are questions that we have all waited our entire lives to have answered, and I will have your explanations before we go any further."

Don looked to the side, finding the river he could only just see through the trees like he was trying to draw on its power through sight alone. He knew this moment would come, knew this would be the first question they asked of him, had tried so many times to prepare an answer that would satisfy them. Yet, no matter how much he had worried it over in his mind, he'd never really managed to come up with a response that he felt was honest while still protective of everything he held dear. Now all he could do was be careful and take it one word at a time.

A long moment passed before he looked back into Leonardo's scrutinizing gaze. "I don't think my answer will be the one you're looking for."

Leonardo only offered a slight tilt of his head. "Try me."

"Alright... I don't know." Don shrugged, trying to hide his nervousness under nonchalance. "My father has many reasons for the things that he does... he shares few of them with me."

"You don't know?" Leonardo said slowly.

"The king is a... private man, he keeps to himself most of the time. He doesn't speak to me often, and when he does it's never about affairs of state."

Leonardo didn't even blink. "You're right, I don't like that answer."

Exhaling through his nose, Don pressed his tongue against the back of his teeth, unsure of what else he could say.

Leonardo frowned. "You expect me to believe that in all this time your father never once told you why he closed your borders, brought all trade to a standstill and cut off every means of communication with the lands outside Varuna?"

"It never really came up." Don said a little more flippantly than he had intended.

"Stop deflecting." Leonardo countered. "To stand there and imply that he has never spoken to you about the affairs of the kingdom you are expected to inherit in just a few short weeks is ridiculous. He must have told you something. Is he even still alive?"

"In a manner of speaking." Don bit his tongue, the words escaping his lips before he even had a chance to think about them.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Leonardo asked with a confused frown.

"Nothing." Don answered quickly, frustrated with himself for the slip. "I just mean that I doubt he's given it much thought."

"And what of Torlan? Are you also going to tell me your grandfather never speaks to you either?"

Donatello went very still, the question catching him off guard. During his time spent in the other kingdoms he had discovered that the general population was not aware that his grandfather was dead, a fact that honestly didn't surprise him given the circumstances, but it had never occurred to him that word of Torlan's death would not have at least been sent to the royal families. He had always assumed the priesthood would have found some way to inform them. But now, looking into Leonardo's eyes across the darkened clearing he was stunned to realize that the prince of air truly didn't know.

"What is it?" Leonardo asked, confusion narrowing his eyes.

Don could see an opportunity when one presented itself. Leonardo was being cautious with him and was already questioning the half truths he had been offering, but this was his chance to give something that he didn't need to twist around a hidden meaning.

When he finally spoke, his voice was low. "There was a plague, fifteen years ago. Our physicians did everything they could for weeks to find a cure... but before they did the sickness took two hundred and eight souls. My grandfather... and my mother among them."

There was almost no reaction, Leonardo's eyes going wide with shock.

"Torlan is dead?"

Donatello didn't bother to conceal the pain in his eyes. "There are many things in my life that would be vastly different if my grandfather were still alive."

The blue banded prince blinked through his disbelief. "All these years...? Why was no one told?"

Don didn't have an answer for that except for a half shrug that barely moved his shoulders, watching with trepidation as the shock in Leonardo's eyes transformed into dark suspicion. The prince of air stared at him for almost a full minute, eyes narrowing like he was making a decision about something, before he continued in a hard voice.

"I don't believe you. You're hiding something. There would be no reason to conceal your grandfather's death, especially under such innocuous circumstances. A sickness that took that many lives could never have been kept a secret."

Don was flabbergasted. "Why would I lie about..."

"Your family held the emperor's throne for four generations before my father won the seat. Our father's have never talked about the circumstances of their trials, and because of that the real truth about what happened twenty five years ago is shrouded in secrecy, but the result was your father's disqualification. His failure. That fact is indisputable. So, it's not a stretch to think that Torlan and Archus have devised a plan to take back what they so disgracefully lost... using you."

Don's eye twitched as he fought to maintain his composure, everything about this was ridiculous and he had to take a deep breath before trusting himself to speak. "That... might be a reasonable assumption to make, if there were any truth to it, but I assure you that's not what..."

"And what better way to get us to lower our guard," Leonardo cut in, "than by weaving a tale of your grandfather's tragic, untimely death. Making us feel sorry for you, before springing your trap?"

"Wh... what are you talking about?" Don questioned, trying not to let confusion and anger cloud his responses. "There's no trap, no plan to do anythi..."

"Let's pretend for a moment that this story you've told is true. If your grandfather really is dead then that's all the more reason for us to suspect you. Are you here to win back your family's legacy in his honor? By any means necessary perhaps? To achieve for your grandfather's memory what your father could not? Otherwise, why would you even bother to show your face here?" Leonardo's arm shot out to his side, sharply jabbing at the air with one pointed finger. "This place alone threatens the legacy of what your father has built in isolating your kingdom and your people. Surely he expects you to uphold that decree."

"Now who's deflecting?" Don spat, no longer interested in containing his ire. "You know it's not that simple! You should understand that better than any of us!"

It was a pinpoint strike, and Leonardo almost couldn't conceal the jerk of his head at the words, but Don saw it and knew he struck the right nerve.

The answer to Leonardo's question was Leonardo himself. He only needed to look as far as his relationship with his own father, the emperor who held Aeolus in his iron grip, for the explanations he needed. On some detached level Don understood that everything Leonardo was accusing him of in this moment was a reflection of the challenges he faced in his own life, and distantly there was a sympathy he felt that could connect them if given time and opportunity. But he wasn't going to just lay down and let the prince of air fling abuse at him either.

Donatello wanted to end this conversation and retreat back to the relative safety of their campsite where he could at least hide in his tent for the rest of the night. Leonardo's fingers were twitching like he wanted to reach for his katana again and Don didn't feel safe. Quickly, he bent over to fill his arms with any pieces of wood he could reach, then he straightened and stared defiantly into Leonardo's eyes.

"I don't know what will happen when this is over. But what I do know is that I will do what is best for my kingdom and my people."

"Even if that means going against your father?" Leonardo was rigid, staring hard as Don moved away without answering him, raising his voice again when it was obvious he wasn't turning back. "Don't walk away from me!"

Donatello didn't stop. He plunged into the dark, using only the sound of the river and his sense of direction to guide him back the way they had come. He knew Leonardo was behind him, silent as he was; could practically feel his hot breath on the back of his neck, but he didn't dare slow down. He didn't want to be alone in this wood with the prince of air for even one second longer.

Thankfully the trip back to camp was faster then the way out had been. He broke past the tree line, almost stumbling in his haste, and moved directly toward the fire. At the blurred edge of his vision he could see Michelangelo nestled comfortably in the space between Raphael's knees but their intimate position almost didn't even register, he was so focused on getting away from his blue banded pursuer.

"Stop!" Leonardo said forcefully as he appeared out of the dark.

Don dropped the wood in his arms beside the fire, his head snapping around at Leonardo's sharp command, anger heating his face.

"Do you even know what is being said about him?" The prince of air immediately continued. "We've been told that the king of Varuna is a maniacal tyrant who wants to assassinate us and claim the power of all four elements for himself. That he practices dark sorcery, sacrificing your citizens to bolster his power as he plans his revenge. We were all warned to keep on our guard before we came here, just in case he raised you to be his weapon and that he will wield you to gain back the seat he lost, using whatever means necessary to achieve his goals. So do not stand there and pretend to be ignorant of your father's reasons for what he has done."

Hearing so many outlandish accusations against his father had brought Don up straight, his back stiff, fists clenched. He looked from hard hazel eyes to intense amber to somber baby blues, seeing within them the reality of the rumors they had all been led to believe, the same as the whispers he'd heard in every inn and tavern he had passed through during his travels.

He forced out a grim laugh. "You talk about what you don't understand." Don said low, grinding out the last word through his teeth. "I'll concede that certain choices made over the years have been questionable, but my father is a good man and I will not stand here and listen to you slander him!"

Something flashed in Leonardo's eyes and Don braced himself. This entire thing had devolved so quickly his head was spinning. He had expected them to have questions, to demand answers, to be curious and guarded and, yes, even suspicious. But this open hostility was completely staggering and he wasn't prepared for it. Did they truly believe him to be some evil henchmen sent by his father to carry out a diabolical plan? If that was true how would the four of them possibly make it through this first night, let alone through the entirety of the trials?

Leonardo looked like he was about to counter back when a quiet voice cut him off.

"Leo, come on, stop..." Michelangelo sounded exhausted, discontent radiating from him as he looked back and forth between them.

But Leonardo would not be deterred. "I'll stop when I get an answer."

"I. Don't. Know." Donatello ground out, leaning forward with each determined syllable. "And as disappointing as that may be for you, sometimes the truth is a lot more simple than absurd rumors that fester in taverns and back alleys with no basis in reality. You have been blinded by lies that become more and more ridiculous with each telling!"

His voice had steadily risen with each word until he was almost yelling and they were all staring at him now. Apparently he had vastly underestimated what their preconceived notions of him would be, and suddenly he felt like all of the oxygen was being sucked out of his lungs, to the point that his fingers and toes were starting to tingle. He jerked a little, taking an agitated step away from them.

"Look," Don continued in a defeated voice. "I don't need you to trust me, I don't even need you to like me, but the fact is I can't get through these trials without you and all I need is for you to help me get to where I need to be, so I can do what I came here to do."

"What did you come here to do?" Leonardo said slowly.

"I came to find the truth." Don insisted, ignoring the suspicion in that loaded question. "I don't care about these trials, or about winning, or about any of this. But I also have questions that I need to have answered, and I will find those answers here, then I will go home and we can all get back to our lives!"

"You can play at being secretive all you want," Leonardo said, stepping forward, the firelight casting shadows across his face. "But I think you've made one thing abundantly clear. Whatever your true motivations may be for being here, it's obvious you will go to any length to protect your father. For our entire lives you have been invisible and we have spent every day looking over our shoulders for the knife in the dark. You are careful and calculating, I can hear it in the way your words twist around the truth, and I swear I will get that truth out of you if it's the last thing I do."

Don bristled at how accurate Leonardo was in his assessment. Donatello was protecting his father, and he was being very careful about it. He was wrong, however, in thinking it was due to some sinister motive. But after the heat of their exchange he wasn't ready to give the blue banded turtle the satisfaction of knowing just how close to being right he was.

With a hard glare at the emperor's son, his response was almost a whisper. "You don't know anything about me."

"Yeah, that's the problem."

The soft statement hung in the air, all of them holding their breath. Raphael watched Leonardo with an unwavering look through narrowed eyes. Michelangelo sat on the ground, leaning against Raphael's legs with his face in his hands.

Donatello fought to swallow the lump of emotion that swelled in his throat. None of this had gone the way he had hoped it would and now he wasn't sure if there was any way to save it. He closed his eyes and raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright... I need a break."

Not waiting for a response he turned and fled the firelight, barely hearing Michelangelo's soft voice call after him, or the heated question that faded in his ears as he made straight for the river. "Leo... what did you do...?"

~*~ EotW ~*~