Chapter 14: Leo Is Blinded.
Thunder clouds powerfully rolled over the mountainous region, but that wasn't enough to cancel the small yet spectacular fireworks display at the mansion. The coalition of cheetahs watched with awe and excitement from afar. Their eagerness quickly turned into nervousness when they finally reached the fortress gates. It seemed like everyone had brought a weapon along with them, as if everybody had his or her own plan of some sort of assassination. Two lion security guards sat out the front, collecting any offending objects.
"How are we going to get in? They'll recognise us!" Donatello whispered to his twin as they slowly approached the entrance. Michelangelo gave his brother a worried glance. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.
"Please place any weapons in the container on the table", one of the guards said lazily. Judging from the accumulated pile of harmful things, it seemed that the guards had been on duty for quite some time and were starting to get a bit sloppy in their responsibilities. The lions gave them all a quick look, before returning to their card game that they were playing to pass the time. Not wanting to cause any trouble later on, the boys gave in their weapons nevertheless. The cheetahs were quite surprised that the guards hadn't recognised, or hadn't realised who they were yet. They quickly rushed through the gates anyway, not wanting to stay and test the lion's memory.
The boys followed some other guests through the garden, slowly approaching the main hall where the party was supposedly going to be held. "I can't walk in this thing!" Donatello complained as he waddled in his sun sphere. His brothers giggled at Donatello's new walk. Michelangelo flicked the 'moon' so that it orbited around the 'earth' again. "I told you to stop doing that!"
The hall was filled with many costumed mutants, all of which seemed to be having a great time. A giant chandelier was suspended from the ceiling illuminating the most of the room. The music came from a small band situated near the base of the main staircase, which lead up to the 'East' and 'West Wings'. A large table covered in drinks and snacks was on the right side of the room. Leonardo looked around, only to find that his brothers had already disappeared. He sighed and went in search of something fun to do.
"Excuse me. Are you Shere Khan?" asked a cheetah wearing a black mask and a ninja costume.
"I am," the tiger said in between sips of his champagne.
"I've heard rumours that you own servant, a female cheetah by the name of Venus. Is that correct?"
"Yes, it is." Shere Khan answered simply. He hadn't seen this mutant before and didn't know who he was. The cheetah seemed to be around the same age as Venus and the boys, though the tiger was fairly certain that he wasn't one of the State Mutants in disguise.
"I was wondering if I would be able to buy Venus off you," the male cheetah offered, a dark tone in his voice. Shere Khan thought about this.
"I'm sorry but Venus isn't for sale," Shere Khan said bluntly. Venus was too valuable to him. Besides, he wanted to win that bet he'd made with Vasha. "I haven't seen you around before. What's your name?"
"Galileo," the cheetah answered.
"Well, if I change my mind about Venus, you'll be the first to know", Shere Khan said. He didn't want to leave on bad terms and wanted to keep his options open as all decent villains do. Galileo gave a wry grin.
"Thank you. I appreciate that. By the way, I love your Darth Vader costume."
"Thanks. Darth Vader's my idol," Shere Khan explained while admiring his own outfit.
"Mine too," Galileo added before disappearing into the crowds.
Rachel and Venus stood at the top of the main staircase, staring into the crowds below them. "Wow! It looks like everyone from Ikhaya Labantu showed up!" Venus exclaimed to Rachel. Rachel smiled and nodded in response. She knew that her angel costume would look great on Venus, and she was right. The white elegant dress, feathery wings and golden tinsel halo made Venus look… angelic. Rachel had wanted to wear the costume herself, but she decided that it suited Venus more. So she wore her horse costume instead.
"Hello Venus," a voice said. Venus spun around, only to find that the voice belonged to a male cheetah wearing a ninja costume. Rachel glared at him.
"H… how did you know my name?" Venus stammered, a bit freaked out.
"… Surely you remember who I am?" Galileo teased. Venus' expression remained blank. "… What happened to you? How can you forget me after all we went through?" Galileo asked with an evil intention behind his words. Venus started to feel uncomfortable. Rachel stepped forward a snarl on her face.
"Leave her alone Galileo," she growled.
"Rachel… how could I forget you?" Galileo growled back. He began to understand the hint that he wasn't wanted. "Well, I'll be seeing you later Venus. You can bet on it." He left the two girls and walked down the stairs.
"Who… who was he?" Venus asked, feeling uneasy and confused about the incident. She didn't like the fact that he somehow knew about her past.
"His name is Galileo. Trust me, this is one guy you'd want to forget." Rachel said, eyes still following him through the crowds.
"Is it just me, or does every guy around here want me for something?" Venus sighed. Rachel laughed.
"Don't worry. I'm sure there's somebody out there that'll treat you right. You just haven't met them as of yet."
"Yeah, maybe your right."
"Anyway, I'm hungry. I'm going to go down to the buffet table to pig out. Will you be ok if I leave you for a while?" Rachel asked. She was a bit concerned knowing full well that Galileo was out there. Rachel and Galileo had met before, quite a long time ago. Venus just smiled which suggested that she'd be fine. She wanted to explore the party be herself anyway.
Rachel walked down the stairs, pushing her way through the dancing crowds, slowly making her way to the buffet table. She picked up her plate and began to pile on some of the many different varieties of foods available. Rachel was so preoccupied with her activity that she bumped into the person beside her. "Oh sorry!" She said instantly, as though it was second nature to her.
"That's alright", the male murmured. He was wearing a horse costume as well. "Neigh," Raphael said unenthusiastically when he realised they were both wearing the same outfit. Raphael lifted up his horse mask to see Rachel better. Rachel lifted up her horse mask as well, smiled, then playfully gave a little whinny. Raphael smiled back.
Leonardo sighed. He wasn't having a great time at all. For most of the night he had been searching for his brothers. He'd only managed to find Donatello, who was currently in the bathroom, and had been in there for quite some time now. It seemed like the 'genius' forgot to put a zipper down the front of his spherical Solar System costume. Leonardo sighed again, waiting outside the bathroom for Donatello to finally emerge. He gave up waiting after ten minutes and decided to have a little walk around. He pushed through the clumps of talkative people who were having a better time than he was. Head down, he barged over to one of the many columns that supported the room, and lounged backwards, arms crossed. His eyes scanned the partying people, hoping to find either Raphael or Michelangelo. What he found was something completely unexpected.
In one moment, he'd forgotten what he was searching for in the first place. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Leonardo didn't notice anyone else in the room besides himself and the mysterious girl. Even though the world seemed to slow, his heart raced a mile a minute. Millions of questions like 'who is she?' and 'should I speak to her?' whirled like a tornado through his mind. Just standing there in the middle of the crowds, was an angel, a female mutant cheetah. He had never seen one of those before. The female noticed her secret admirer and began to stare back at Leonardo, a shy smile on her face. He blushed and gave a shy smile back. Confidence continued to build and the girl began to walk over. Leonardo started to panic. He was nervous. He was shy. He was… in love.
Venus started to work her way over to the mystery boy who had caught her eye, only to be stopped by Sebastian dressed in an astronaut suit. "Surely I'm allowed to have at least one dance with you?" the tiger said, blocking her way. Venus desperately wanted to talk with the knight in shining armour, but she gave into Sebastian's request as she figured that he'd keep bothering her if she said 'no'. Sebastian smiled and held Venus' hands, getting ready for the next song to be produced by the band. The music started, and Sebastian pulled Venus slightly closer to him, beginning to dance. Venus followed, but her focus of attention always remained on the quiet boy leaning against the column. She admired the male cheetah's baby blue eyes and gave him a subtle smile when Sebastian wasn't looking. It was almost as though Venus was including him into the dance, always acknowledging that he was there. The boy watched intently from the sidelines, not letting it get to him that Venus was dancing with another male.
The song ended, and so did Sebastian and Venus' dance. The crowd politely applauded the instrumentalists before getting ready for the next song. While Sebastian was occupied clapping, Venus sneaked away unnoticed, over towards the anxious cheetah who had been so keenly watching her.
Leonardo gently held one of the girl's paws and lead her through the crowd, away from Sebastian's prying eyes. When he was satisfied with his new position in the room, he looked into her eyes and asked softly, "Surely I'm allowed to have at least one dance with you?" The female cheetah giggled in response, and happily agreed to dance with the cute stranger she'd just met. The music began and away they went, moving as one in perfect harmony. "What's your name?" Leonardo whispered in her ear.
"Venus," she answered kindly. 'Venus…' It was a name that he'd heard so very long ago; long before he was mutant. He tried to think back, reminiscing his life story in the process. 'It couldn't be…' Leonardo thought. 'Could it be Venus?… It can't be… that was before my brothers and I were mutants. If that IS her, then she must have mutated. But she wasn't with us at the time… it can't be her. The Venus I know couldn't have been mutated. She's still a normal cheetah! I haven't seen her before. I haven't seen a female mutant cheetah around. Surely I would have heard by now if she was the Venus I know. It must be coincidence… it can't be Venus, the cub I grew up with all those months ago…'
"What's yours?" Venus asked, staring into his thoughtful blue eyes, breaking him out of his trance.
"Huh?… oh! My name's Leonardo." The name rang a bell deep in Venus' mind, but her memory remained blank, so she shrugged it off, ignoring her thoughts completely.
'Where is she?' Sebastian wondered, searching through the party. It didn't take him long to find Venus… dancing with Leonardo. Anger boiled deep inside, but Sebastian managed to control it, thinking of more clever ways to deal with this issue. After a few minutes of looking, Sebastian finally managed to find his father. Shere Khan was now on top of the main staircase. He was having a drink with Vasha, who was dressed as Cleopatra. "Dad! The State Mutants are here!" Sebastian called out over the music. After three glasses of champagne, two bottles of beer, wine and vodka, Shere Khan was feeling a little tipsy. He looked down at his guests and spotted Michelangelo hogging the food at the buffet table. Shere Khan put an arm around his son's shoulders, leaning some of his weight on to Sebastian.
"It's fine, fine. Jusst leave them alone… let them have ssome fun. Leave them alone…" Shere Khan said, his words beginning to slur.
"WHAT?! But Dad…"
"ENOUGH! What do you want to do? Cause a mutiny amongst my guests?" Shere Khan snapped suddenly, turning a little violent. Even though the tiger was drunk, he still stuck with his goal in making the citizens of Ikhaya Labantu like him. Vasha rolled her eyes but kept quiet. It was clear to Sebastian that Vasha just wanted to get rid of the cheetahs.
One dance had magically turned into eight. To Venus, this boy was different from all the others she'd met. She admired all the little things about Leonardo; how he spoke, how his hands held hers and how his small crest down the back of his neck ruffled as he moved. She adored his eyes, those eyes that were so calming to her. They both applauded at the end of the next song. The conductor made an announcement for people who wanted to do some karaoke. A male cheetah, dressed as what looked like Xena, volunteered. Leonardo groaned. "Do you know him?" Venus asked, being curious.
"He's my brother… and my leader," Leonardo moaned. Venus laughed. Leonardo blushed from embarrassment because not only did he know this guy, he was related to him as well. The band started to play, and Michelangelo began to sing along with the music.
"He's ok at singing though," Venus commented, trying to cheer him up. Leonardo agreed. Michelangelo managed to get a large applause at the end, and a few shouts of 'Go Michael!' coming from Raphael. "So how many brothers have you got?" Venus asked, wanting to know more about him.
"Three brothers. Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello. I'm the youngest," Leonardo answered.
"Oh… So you're the baby!" Venus crooned. Leonardo nodded with a slight smile on his face. "You got a little coalition going there haven't you?" Venus analysed. It was quite common for male cheetahs, usually brothers, to stay together in small groups (coalitions) of about two to four members when living in the wild. Venus sighed to herself as sad thoughts drifted through her mind. She may not have noticed, but her facial expressions soon reflected her feelings from the inside.
"What's wrong?" Leonardo asked when he saw her face.
"I was just thinking… I've never really had a family. Well, not one that I can remember anyway…" Venus said softly, watching her toe as she slowly traced it around the floor.
"I see," Leonardo said quietly, furiously thinking of a solution to the problem. He gently pulled Venus over to the buffet table, grabbed a serviette/napkin and pulled out a pen that he'd forgotten to take out of his pocket earlier that day. He quickly jotted down something and handed it to Venus. "It's my cell phone number. If you ever feel lonely or just want to chat, then phone me. I'd love to hear from you," Leonardo said, answering Venus' unspoken question. The girl smiled in excitement and gave Leonardo a hug of appreciation. Even though Venus didn't really have access to a phone, it still meant a lot to her. Apart from Rachel, she didn't know anybody else as a friend. Friendship rapidly turned into love when Leonardo and Venus leaned forward, and kissed…
"Venus…" Rachel said, hating to interrupt the two. Venus and Leonardo jumped apart, blushing in slight embarrassment. "… Um… your Master wants to see you," Rachel completed. Venus gave Leonardo a quick 'excuse me for a moment' look, before walking through the bustling crowds and up the stairs. She found Shere Khan leaning heavily against the wall, finding it hard to keep his balance. Venus looked at the tiger weirdly, before realising that Shere Khan was thoroughly drunk; her assumption from the empty bottles surrounding him.
"…Veenuss… What wass that 'ing that yuu used to doo?" Shere Khan asked, words obviously slurring. Venus continued to look at him weirdly. "Yuuu knowww? That thingg. Where… There's a little rock and… yuu did thisss sstuff to it…" Shere Khan continued to ramble. Venus had absolutely no idea what he was going on about, but she went along with it, trying to keep a straight face. The tiger continued to ramble while Venus nodded her head, humouring him.
'Shere Khan is her Master?!?' Leonardo watched in both shock and horror at the bottom of the stairs, eyes wide as he stared at Venus taking orders from Shere Khan, his enemy. He was confused and wanted an explanation, but he couldn't speak to her in front of Shere Khan. All he could do was watch the conversation between his love and enemy.
"Ok, I'll go do that thing you told me to do straight away," Venus said, finishing up her senseless conversation with Shere Khan. Venus turned around and looked down at Leonardo. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion with the look she was receiving from him. Kathryn, dressed up as a princess, came up and stood beside Venus, staring at the shocked Leonardo.
"I saw the whole thing. You're lucky that Shere Khan is drunk, and that Vasha is busy, because if they saw what I saw… you'd be dead in a second," Kathryn whispered evilly in her ear.
"What? Why?" Venus asked, confused by what Kathryn had meant.
"That boy is bad news. He's Leonardo, a State Mutant. Student of Saringai, Shere Khan's sworn enemy. You're treading on very thin ice, Venus. I won't tell, as long as you stay away from Sebastian. You understand?" Kathryn blackmailed. Venus gave a small nod, admitting defeat. Leonardo was an enemy. That was that. But she couldn't just leave it there. Or could she? Tears started to build up in her eyes, but none fell. She didn't know what to think or do. So she simply just stared back at the confused boy at the bottom of the stairs.
"Hey! Leonardo!" Michelangelo called out loudly, nearly jumping on top of him. Raphael and Donatello were close behind. "Hey dude! Where've you been?" Michelangelo asked excitedly. Leonardo continued to look up at Venus. Michelangelo followed his gaze. "Eeew, gross. It's a girl… C'mon let's go. If we don't go now, then we're not gonna make it home before Saringai wakes up. C'mon!" Michelangelo grabbed Leonardo's hand and tugged him away, his two other brothers close behind.
When outside, they collected their weapons and armed themselves once again. The clouds rumbled and the heavens opened up, unleashing pouring rain which quickly drenched everyone standing outside. "Well… it looks like the rains have finally come," Raphael yelled over the sound of the splattering water droplets.
"C'mon, we better go!" Michelangelo announced loudly, water trickling into his mouth as he spoke. As the cheetahs started to leave, Leonardo stayed behind. He couldn't leave Venus. He wanted answers and didn't know if he'd ever see her again. He had this desperate urge to see her. It was stupid and it made no sense why he wanted to speak to a friend of his enemies, but he had to. There wasn't a reason; it was just simply that he wanted to. His brothers continued to walk away through the rain, not realising that their youngest brother wasn't with them.
Author's Note: Woo hoo! We've finally started the crossovers. The first part of this fanfic is actually the most original, while the rest of it I'll just be combining a mix of movies, cartoons and TV shows (heh, so much for creativity!). I don't think the crossovers so far are that obvious, but trust me, there will be some ones that you will recognise really easily (ten points if you know the two movies that have influenced this chapter!). I know there are a lot of characters, and at the end of the next chapter I will add on a quick summary of the characters. I wasn't going to do it this chapter because I feel I need to do a little bit more character building first. Btw, if you were wondering about the title of this chapter, it's metaphorical (I hope you weren't thinking literal! I'd never do that to Leo!).