| Part 26 |
| It was a beautiful ceremony. Flowers bloomed all over in the small park as mourners gathered to pay their respects for the one at peace. Risa stood around people she didn't know. Raphael was on her left, away from the crowds but standing close to support her. She continued to sob and sniffle incessantly, clutching his coat tighter as the priest went on talking. Leonardo stood beside Raph on the farthest side of the group with hands folded together in front of him and head bowed. The priest held the Bible in his hands and read aloud the Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He restoreth my soul; he leadth me in the Yea, though I walk through the valley of Thou preparest a table before me in the Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me The crowd said a quiet, "Amen" and performed the symbol of the father, the sun, and the holy spirit. The ceremony continued with mixed chatter and quiet sobs. The casket was lowered down into the pit of earth and shovels started to heave large amount of thick dirt. Leonardo couldn't watch anymore. He'd seen enough. Phoebe watched him step away from the group. He could feel her eyes on him. Quiet footsteps were no good for this ninja. He walked up to a large tree before turning around. Dressed all in black, she stood staring at him. "Who are you, sir? Won't you tell me who you are before you disappear out my life forever?" Sir. A word he's heard a lot and never liked at all. The woman was in mourning. He wasn't about to say something over calling him sir. Pettiness was not a good thing to do at the moment. "I won't tell you my life story, Phoebe. Just that I was a friend of Jenny's and I tried to help her as best I could." "You are not human. I can clearly see that." Anyone could if they looked closely. She stared right through him. "You say you were a friend of Jenny's. But a friend would not let this happen." "That's a lie. Friends don't let friends drive drunk, but it happens anyway. Friends don't let friends cross rail road tracks. But it happens anyway. I did everything I could to save her. I was a friend to Jenny and I told you, I tried to help her. I did what I cou-" "You did nothing! What do you think you've done? Did you see what just happened back there? That's my niece they're burying over there! My flesh and blood!" Leonardo was now losing his patience. "I did nothing? Woman, you have chosen your words poorly. You don't know anything about me or my family. I am a trained ninja to fight and protect the innocent. I put my life on the line for that girl and just about everyone else in that heartless city of New York. How dare you tell me that I did nothing!! If you had any knowledge of what I went through to get her out of that God-awful school, you would not be bashing me as you are doing right now." Phoebe started to sob again. Leo sighed and looked over to the group whom started to separate into smaller groups. "Listen, umm, Leo. I said you did nothing because Jenny is dead. If I had known what happened before I arrived, I wouldn't have prejudged you like I did. But please, I will ask you again because I must know for sure. What have you done for her to make me understand your point of view?" Leonardo stood silently. He felt he did so little when she lost her battle. "I loved her, Phoebe. I know you must think something alien like me could never love or be loved. But I did love her. And she loved me. What I did was show her that I cared, released her from her pain and gave her the one gift she will cherish in the afterlife." "And what is that?" "Absolute freedom. And to me, that is not considered nothing. To me, it's everything." Phoebe raised a small smile. "Are you sure you're a ninja? Or a poet?" "Welcome to the Homestead!" The beat-up car crashed into the driveway of a large, white farmhouse. Sam peeked her head out the car window, only for it to get covered in a blanket of smoke. "You really should go get a smog check, Casey." Donatello's face etched with concern. "This is totally unhealthy. I hope April has another vehicle to use." "What, and pay gobs of cash? Who needs to see a mechanic when I can check it myself? And now you're here-" "Oh, no you don't Casey. Don't drag me in on this one." "Hell ya! It'll be like old times, remember?" "I'm still trying to forget." Casey led them into the first section of the house, dropping Sam's bags every which way carelessly. "Well, groupies, this is the inside of our palace." Casey kicked the door closed with a bang. "The rest of the crew aren't home yet. April's putting up with bullshit at work and Shadow's getting smarter in school so you won't see their smiling faces till later on." Sam nodded to him. "We have plenty of room. When this farmhouse was first built, there were extra rooms for the servants quarters. Ya know, like in the old days?" "Uh, huh. So, me, your humbled guest gets to sleep in one of the servant's room?" "Ah, heck no!" Casey thumbed to Michaelangelo. "You can have his previous room." "Hey! Casey!" "Well, that's not a problem." Sam grinned. "As long as he gets to stay with me, too." Her fingernail danced across Mike's shoulder, giving him Goosebumps. Casey looked to Donatello. "She's over 18, right?" "Uhh-" "I don't mean to sound paranoid or anything." "Umm-" "I will be 18 next year." Sam popped up. "She graduates next year, Casey." Michaelangelo said happily. "I'm not talking about her damn school records. I'm talking about you having sex with a minor, lover boy. It isn't right." Donatello needed to find a chair or else he would have fainted from the shock. "Casey." Don plopped down in the rocking chair. "Since when did you become the sex police? You, Casey. The guy who whistles at other women in public." "He does?" "Ixnay, ixnay, Don!" Casey grinned to Sam. "Hey, you girls look at other men, it doesn't hurt for us to look too, you know." Sam waved her hands. "Well, getting back to my situation, you think Mike here is gonna have sex with me at the drop of a hat?" "I was thinking more at the drop of your luggage in your room." "Oh, good Lord, Casey! I am not a tramp and this is no whore house for girls to come in and out of as they please." "I know how this guy is, Sam. I don't want to see you get hurt. He'll probably take advantage of you the first time given." "Aw, jeez, thanks a lot Casey! Put me out as the bad guy!" Michaelangelo huffed a breath. "I would never take advantage of Sam. Not on the first day, that is." They stared at him. "D-ut! That was a joke, guys. Sam. I'd never take advantage of you. Ever. I don't know where you got that idea, but I swear I wouldn't touch you unless you asked first." "I know, Mike." Sam tapped his shoulder. "So, why don't you stop me when I touch you?" Leonardo walked back over to a hungry Raphael whom took it upon himself to feed his face from the large spread out of catered delights. "For a funeral." He gulped in-between bites. "This is damn good food. Better chow down before we leave. It's a long way to the farmhouse." "I'm not hungry, Raph. But, thanks for the offer." Leo leaned against the table, looking left to right. "Where's Marisa?" "There." Raph pointed with a chicken leg in his hand. Risa was talking to some people they've never seen before. "She saw some old school buddies and went to say hello." Leonardo watched her stand there; her tiny figure slumped over the shoulder of some girl about the same height. Both faces red and stained with tears. One tall guy hugged Risa next, making Raph pause and stare closely. The guy handed her a single rose and whispered in her ear. The two turtles waited to see what she'd do. Risa nodded and walked back over to the gravesite, dropping the rose down on the dirt. "He's just a friend, Raph. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." "I'm not worried. Do I look worried? What makes you think I'm worried?" "Here." Leo handed him a napkin. "You broke the chicken bone in your hand." Raphael looked down at the splintered bone between his fingers. He was worried. "Oh, shit!" He wiped his hand from the grease and oil. "Alright, fine. That guy went too far back there. I just don't want to lose her, Leo. She means every thing to me." Bad choice of words. "I understand, Raph." Leo sighed. It's funny how Raph quickly forgot why they were standing outside in a cemetery with so many people dressed in black. Risa waved good-bye to her friends before turning to Raph and smiling warmly. He smiled back with a wave. She then walked up to him, still smiling. "Hey, babe." He put an arm around her. "How are you holding up?" "Not good." She laughed. Then sobbed all over again. Raph looked to Leo and thumbed at her. "This is what I meant by girls having weird emotions. She laughed and now she's crying!" He placed a hand under her chin. "You're a weird girl." She giggled but still cried. Raph looked at Leo again. "See?" Then back to her. "Hey, hey, it's okay. It's alright. Stop crying, or you'll dehydrate." He started to kiss her wet cheeks and she burst out laughing. "Now, what?!" "You smell like chicken, Raph!" Risa beamed. That remark made even Leo chuckle out loud. "Funny, I don't taste like chicken!" "We'll see about that-" Risa smiled up at him and kissed his lips fully. The napkin with the bones dropped as Raph placed both arms around her. That was Leo's cue to step away from them. Walking around with hands shoved deep in his pockets, he caught the sight of Jenny's grave. The tears fell silently without any effort to force them. He could no longer hold it in. Leo pulled himself away from the crowds on a quiet walk in the empty cemetery. It was 'dead' quiet. A respected place for the deceased. He found a bench under a shady tree and slumped down on the stone concrete, feeling the cold slab pass through his pants. Looking around, the mourners were starting to lessen in numbers. An unholy sound escaped his lips as his buried his hands into his face, lowering his head downward onto his lap. He cried till it hurt. He cried till he became nauseous. Nothing would stop the hysterics until he felt a slight brush of someone touching his arm. "Hello-" Leonardo jumped up and backed away, his tension slowly fading. "Jenny?" Impossible! He stared harshly before realizing this 'Jenny' was a little bit shorter. Upon closer inspection, it was a young girl looking about the same age as Jenny. She wore a long, black dress down to her ankles with a black beret on her head. Her hair matched the same tones as Jenny's with a hint of honey blonde mixed with it. She stood quietly; her hands circling a large bouquet of assorted flowers. Leonardo briefly recalled seeing her during the ceremony. "I- I'm sorry." The girl said under-breath. "Did I scare you?" Leo sat back down as casually as possible. "No, it's alright. I'm the one who should apologize for reacting the way I did." Leonardo sniffed and wiped his eyes. He thought he was alone, only to discover his trail was being followed by someone called 'curious.' She remained quiet as if feeling she did wrong following him to this spot. Looking into his face, she saw much sorrow and distraught. His eyes that once showed pride and honor were now looking hollow and empty. What to do? What to talk about? There's not much to say after attending a funeral. He sat quietly as before, now with someone watching. And wondering. Stuck to ponder in making the next move. After several minutes, Leo felt her slide carefully next to him. It's a free bench. Whom was he to argue with? She studied his features with fascination. It was starting to bother him. "It is you." The girl finally said. That made him glance to her in confusion. "Hmm?" "You're a turtle, right?" Leo just stared, blinking. The girl waved a hand around her face. "Your face. It's green." Thanks for being so observant. "Yes, I'm a turtle. And I'm green." Leo's eyes rolled away to the trees and skies above. "I never met a talking turtle before." "Consider this a rare opportunity." "Do you have a name?" "Yes, my name is Leonardo." "I'm Laurie." Her voice was so low, it could easily be picked up and blown away with the wind. "I saw you walking around and followed you here." "That's not very wise, Laurie." He said sternly but softly. "Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not safe to talk to strangers, especially at your age?" "Yes, she has." The girl whispered. "I'm sure she's worried about you. Maybe you should go find her." "She's already here." Leo frowned and looked around. "Huh? Where?" She pointed to the tombstones. "Down that row. Second to the left." Leo suddenly felt a lump reach his throat. He then stood to get a good look at this person. She had a pointed nose that wrinkled like Jenny's. Her very image reminded him of her. The tears were reaching back to his eyes. "Are you in any relation to Jenny?" "I'm her sister." Close enough. Leo almost fell over from the shock. She never told him she had a sister. "I'm very sorry about what happened to her. Please, allow me to give my condolences to you and your family." He started to rise, tapping her shoulder. "It's a shame we had to be introduced like this." Laurie watched him start to walk off and slowly followed. He heard her small feet stepping down on the soft grass and turned back to face her. "How long did you know her?" Leo thought for a good 5 seconds. "Not long enough. She became a really good friend for only a short time." Laurie suddenly got an idea. "Will you do me a favor?" He nodded slightly, thinking it wasn't too much to ask. She broke the bouquet into an even amount of the flowers and handed him half. "Come give these to my sister with me. Any friend of Jenny's is a friend of mine." Leo accepted the flowers and gave a small smile. "You have a lot of Jenny's qualities." "We have a lot in common." She smiled back. April came home eventually with Shadow from a hard day's work and school. Sam stood up when April entered the bedroom. "Hello, Samantha. I'm April." April extended her hand. "Hi, April. It's nice to finally meet you." "I hope Casey has taken care of all your needs." Sam nodded. "Yeah, I'd give him a 85%. Needs to work on the handling-people-with-kindness part the most." "That's a good percentage for Casey. His grades were a lot lower than that in school!" The two shared a quick laugh before April frowned. "Don't quote me on that." "My lips are sealed." Sam still had a smile to her face. "Well, I hope your stay here is comfortable. I'm off to get dinner started. "I'll see you at 7." April closed the door and turned into the hall. The sound of light tapping from the next room filled her ears. Donatello sat at a small laptop computer, tapping away on the loud keys. "Don?" "Oh, hey April! What's up?" "Can I talk to you for a minute?" Donatello looked from side to side before answering. "Ah, sure. Something wrong?" "Well, I'm not sure. It depends on how you feel about making this decision." Donatello's brow lowered with confusion. April shifted to the bed, placing a hand in her coat pocket. "Someone called here a few days ago and I'm still trying to figure out who this person is." "Is it someone I know?" "I suppose. She told me your name." Donatello's eyes drifted away as he thought deeply. "Did you get her's?" "She said her name was Emiko. And she was calling from a hospital in Florida." He didn't have to think anymore. Suddenly, the color drained from Don's face, scaring April slightly. Tearing away from her stare, he rose and stormed out of the room. "Don?! Hey! Wait, a minute!" April jumped up and followed him half way on the staircase. "Don, stop, wait. What's wrong? Who is she?" "She's dead, April." Donatello quickly turned around, startling her a bit. "But, who is or was, she?!" April was now confused. Donatello stood against the banister, sighing heavily. "She was one of the amateur soldiers at that cult we were at. I sort of befriended her and when she escaped, her plane crashed down with no survivors." Donatello resumed his walk down the rest of the way. April still wasn't satisfied. "If she's dead, Don, who was it that called me named Emiko and knows your name?" "I don't know, April. Maybe it's her, she's alive and well, I don't know. All I know is that she didn't want me in her life or else she would have stayed behind. Why she decided to call you is something I can't comprehend. I gave her a choice and she took the alternative. As far as I'm concerned, she's dead. And I want nothing to do with her." "But what if she wants something to do with you?" Donatello paused again, crossing his arms. "I mean, she wouldn't be calling unless she had something important to tell you, right?" "Like what? That I should never have gotten involved to begin with?
That my destiny was to die in the sewer when that bomb went off? Tell me,
April. What was so important that she April removed her hand from her pocket, handing him a small note. "Call her and find out." Leonardo caught up to Raph and Risa again. They were still doing kissy face. He turned away with a groan. Man, you guys. Get a room already! "Hmm, you'd think those two should get a room!" Leo blinked, looking down to Laurie whom appeared out of nowhere. How the hell did she know he was thinking that? He decided to let it go. "Still following a total stranger around?" "You're not totally a total stranger." "There's a lot of things you don't know about me." "What more is there to learn about that I haven't already?" "For one...." Leonardo lifted his coat collar back to show his sheathed katanas. "Why would I be carrying around two huge swords?" "If you know, why are you asking me?" Oh, the child is a such a nuisance! Staring at her with disbelief, Leo refixed his coat. He didn't know whether to laugh from her silliness or cry from her stupidity. "Right. What was I thinking? I enjoy breaking my back on these two slabs of steel for no reason." She heard the sarcasm in his voice. "I'm sorry. I misunderstood you." "It's alright." Leonardo looked over to Raph and Risa again. "They look real happy together, don't they?" Laurie followed his gaze. Leo nodded. "They are very happy. I only wish my brother the best of luck." "That's your brother?" Laurie pointed. Leo nodded. "You look like twins." "I have two other brothers." Leonardo looked down at the funeral program clutched in his hand. He shoved it deeply in his coat pocket. "We have to get going soon. We have a long drive ahead of us." "Where are you going?" He said nothing to that. "If you don't mind me asking." "Um, we have family in Massachusetts. That's where my other two brothers went to." He paused. "From there, I wish to travel to Japan to visit my sensei." "Wow. Japan." Laurie mumbled in awe. "I never go anywhere like that." "Laurie!" Leo turned to the direction of the voice. It was Phoebe, standing by a large black, limo. By some force, Leonardo suddenly picked up her hand. "Come with me, then." "I wish I could. But I have school and I'm still under the rules of the adult persons." Laurie started to sway her hand within Leo's, then giving it a little squeeze. "I could see why she could get attached to someone like you. I never met you and now, you're so....um....intriguing if that's the word to use." "Yes, I guess it does fit my description. I suppose you do mean that-" "Laurie!" Phoebe saw Laurie's hand latched to Leo's. She did not look happy and came over, pulling her away from him. "Did you not hear what I said? We're leaving now." Phoebe looked to Leo next. "Excuse us. We have her side of the family to meet up with so, we must go. You have a way home, don't you?" As if you care. "Yes, I do." He looked to Laurie. "We were just-" "I know what you two were doing." Phoebe looked back and forth to both of them. "And she is not going to associate with the likes of you." Phoebe marched off with Laurie dragging behind her. Laurie looked back but Leo turned away from her face. "Honestly, dear. What could you possibly see in that thing?" "I was just starting to find out." Laurie said dreamily. Leonardo approached Raph and Risa whom witnessed the whole scene. "Oh, Leo." Risa spoke in sympathy. "I do apologize for that woman's actions. Personally, I always thought she was a bitch." "I was waiting for you to say that first, babe!" Raphael grinned. "Why didn't you tell me Jenny had a sister?" Leo asked Risa. "You mean, Laurie?" Risa shrugged. "Well, I always felt she was kind of a pest." Raphael smirked to that. "Her and Jenny got along too well. Laurie was a grade lower but they shared the same group of friends in school. When Jenny and I got into the private school, or that military training..." Risa rolled her eyes. "...Laurie went off on her own and joined a new group of friends. The Pest Patrol is what I called them. I said hi to her but she was too upset to talk to me. She only talks to ones that she trusts the most." Leonardo thought about that last sentence. How can she trust him if she didn't know him? Maybe at first glance, she wasn't afraid to open herself up to him. He was caught off-guard when she approached him. Perhaps, she would give him a chance if she wasn't under strict, parental orders of her aunt and uncle. Well, the uncle he knew nothing about. Phoebe was like a barrier between the two. Either protecting her niece from Leo. Or maybe protecting Leo from her niece. He has found himself and his brothers getting into more trouble when involved with women. Each one had a price. A catch. Would he have risked his life for saving one simple soul? Again and again? He didn't have to answer that question. He knew it was yes, for love is the strongest force on the face of the earth. "We got a train to catch, bro." Raphael straightened his hat. "We'll probably get to the farmhouse by late evening." "Yes, let's leave here." Let's leave the past behind us and move on. The three started to walk off in the opposite direction. Leonardo looked back as the family was getting into the limo. Laurie looked to him before ducking her head into the backseat. Risa could sense Leonardo wanted to get to know her more. "It's not like I don't know where she lives, Leo. All you have to do is ask, and I'll help you. But just remember, she can be quite a pest." "Yes." Leo agreed to that. "A pest with a heart." |
Eve Of Destruction
By: Brinatello
After a bomb destroys their home, the TMNT seek new lodging and discover a place full of unknown horror.
Rated: Fiction M - English - Adventure/Supernatural - Chapters: 30 - Words: 122,941 - Reviews: 5 - Favs: 5 - Follows: 1 - Updated: Apr 28, 2001 - Published: Apr 26, 2001 - id: 266176
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Full 3/4 1/2 Expand Tighten
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