LEGACY

August 28, 1995

-16 Hours, 17 Minutes

SPLINTER:

From beneath the streets of New York, I could not see the sun rise. But I felt it, as I awoke slowly, hesitant to leave the quiet realm of sleep. I breathed deep, taking in the damp air around me. The familiar surroundings took shape as I rose slowly. I closed my eyes and evaluated my sleep for a moment. Then I quietly slipped out of bed. It was morning, and I had slept later than usual. I sighed as I walked to the door and pulled it open. The living room was silent and empty. The only noise came from the dojo. I walked to the door and stood quietly watching. Their movements were practiced and perfect, totally flawless. I smiled knowingly, recognizing the exercise. It was flawless because it was simple, and because they had been doing it for the past six years.

Leonardo was missing. His absence did not alarm me, but it did seem a bit odd. I wondered where he might be, but said nothing as Michaelangelo and Donatello finished and bowed to each other. Raphael stepped away from the wall, twirling his weapons. "Okay, guys," he grinned. "Freestyle."

He braced as they stepped to either side of him. Michaelangelo saw me, and relaxed. "Sensei," he greeted, bowing slightly.

They all turned to me, and I smiled. "Continue," I invited.

They glanced at each other, then resumed their positions. Donatello rushed first, and attempted to hook his bo around Raphael's leg. Raphael shifted his weight to his other leg to avoid the attack and caught the weapon between the prongs of his sai as it twirled and came toward his upper torso. He turned his focus to Michaelangelo and ducked underneath his attack, turning and backing away. His retreat put them both on one side of him. They could not attack at the same time, or they would get in each other's way.

Michaelangelo sprang first at him. He attacked first at Raphael's neck. The soft foam of the practice nunchakus made a soft thud as they hit the side of Raphael's sai. Raphael kicked forward and sent his brother stumbling backward.

Donatello attacked and Raphael twirled to avoid the thrust aimed at his stomach. He dropped and kicked at Donatello's feet, throwing him off balance just in time to turn to Michaelangelo. He brought his sai up and entangled it in the chain of the nunchaku, then jerked the weapon aside. Michaelangelo lost his grip. In the second that his opponent was still surprised, Raphael spun and kicked his shoulder. In actual combat, that blow would have connected with his head and possibly snapped his neck with the force of it. As it was, Michaelangelo fell, landing hard against the blue mat.

Raphael turned and caught Donatello's advancing weapon with one of his own, simultaneously raising his other hand. He jabbed forward, stopping no more than an inch away from Donatello's stomach. Knowing that the killing blow had been made, Donatello stepped back and bowed slightly. Raphael had won. He bowed back, and turned to me. "Take you on, Sensei," he suggested, grinning.

I smiled back. "Perhaps later," I agreed.

Michaelangelo pulled himself to his feet and glared at Raphael. "Ow," he complained.

Raphael shoved his weapons into his belt and shrugged at his brother. I studied them for a moment. "Where is Leonardo?" I finally asked.

LEONARDO:

I couldn't give myself a satisfactory answer for how I'd ended up wandering the streets in broad daylight. Ordinarily, I avoided risks like this. Especially if there was no reason for it. And as far as I could tell, there was no reason for it.

I was deep in thought about something, but I forgot what it was in a fraction of a second as I saw the black figures. I froze and immediately looked around to figure out where I was. I had been wandering aimlessly, and wasn't paying attention to where I was going. What was that building they were interested in? It was an orphanage. Why? What did they want there? I slipped instinctively into silent mode.

Clinging to the shadows, I inched closer. "Maybe there's another way to..."

"Man, knock it off," another snapped. "We got our orders and we're gonna do it Shredder's way."

"But... maybe there's another way or somethin', ya know?"

A third figure answered him. "If you don't shut your mothafuckin' trap, I'm gonna kick your ass clear into next week."

"Yeah, you don't have to stay you fuckin' pussy. You can run away if you want."

I waited to hear his decision. There were only five of them. I could take them down in my sleep. But I'd rather he leave, if he had the nerve to... for his own sake.

Come on, Leo, I thought to myself. Shredder's foot soldiers don't turn back like that. They're too afraid he'll kill them.

A justified fear. Fine. So he wouldn't leave. But he obviously didn't want to be here. Go easy on him, Leo.

What did Shredder want with an orphanage? And did these guys even know? "I just don't see why we gotta hit all those..."

One of the figures lashed out and pinned the protestor to the wall. He appeared to be the one in charge. "Shut yer fuckin' mouth before I stick my fist in it!"

Subtle. Very ninja-like.

I felt eyes on me before anything was said. "Hey!" I froze, head down. They couldn't see my face under the brim of the hat. Therefore, they didn't know who I was. "Who the fuck are you?"

I didn't answer. I let them come to me, and watched their advance with supernatural eyes, while staring harmlessly at the ground. "Well, whoever you are, you're 'bout to get your ass kicked."

A fist struck forward and I moved aside, grabbing his wrist with lightning reflexes. I pulled hard and drove my knee into his stomach. He fell, but one of his partners produced a set of sais. Great. I was going to have to shed the costume, and the element of surprise, to get to my weapons. Maybe I wouldn't need them. I could probably take him empty-handed. That thought was quickly abandoned as a second figure reached for a set of nunchakus. Damn. There were only five of them, four still uninjured, but they could all be armed. And for that, I would need my weapons.

I darted to the side as they rushed me, and shrugged off the trenchcoat in one smooth, fluid movement. I spun, discarded the hat, and unsheathed the katanas on my back. "Holy shit!"

In the second that I had them off guard, I managed to send two of them to the ground. It was only to temporarily get them out of the way. I knew they'd be back up. I brought my weapons down, toward the figure with the sais. He caught them both, surprisingly. I used the momentary distraction while he was reveling in his success, to drive my knee into his groin. I turned as he doubled over, and deflected an attack from one of the nunchakus the other was holding. Taking one last second to sweep the pained foot soldier off his feet, I noted another one behind me, unarmed.

I struck forward, but he caught my weapon with the chain of his. I had to either step aside or push him back. The latter proved easier, as he wasn't able to concentrate on two attacks at once. He deflected a sword strike to his right, while his left hand hung limply at his side. I brought my other blade to his neck, and heard him gasp. I could've easily killed him. Instead, I only knicked his skin and kicked him backward. His head hit the brick wall and he fell, unconscious.

I spun to the attacker behind me. He was close, and running full-speed at me. I dropped my weapons and fell to my back, using the strength in my legs to throw him over me. He, too, hit the wall, and I sprang to my feet again. Of the two who were still standing, one was the uncertain one. I'd kept an eye on which one he was. Two of them were unconscious. One was on the ground in a substantial amount of pain. I wasn't even breathing hard. Maybe they'd realize that and run. I doubted it.

I was rushed again. I blocked his blows, aimed at my face, and sprang backward to avoid a roundhouse kick. But he was slow, and I took his legs out from under him before he'd regained his balance. He landed hard, and didn't move. I looked up at the remaining figure. We stared at each other for a moment, and he took a few steps back. Then, he turned and ran. Good.

I walked to where I'd left my weapons. They scraped against the pavement with a subtle hiss. I sheathed one of them, and kept the other in hand as I walked to the fallen soldier with the sais. I lifted his chin with the tip of my sword. "What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"Fuck you," he snarled.

"I'll ask you one more time."

"You won't kill me, freak."

"You'd better hope not, since I've got a sword at your throat."

"Fuck off."

"Talk."

"No."

I studied him for a moment. I probably would have to kill him to get him to talk. Or at least cause him some serious pain. I wasn't much for torture. And at any rate, it didn't look like they'd done any damage. I lowered my weapon, and glanced up at the building. It was quiet, except for a laugh coming through an open window.

I felt him get up, even though I didn't see it, and tensed instinctively, wondering if he would try and fight me again. He didn't. He turned and ran. I watched him go, and sheathed my weapon.