Chapter 15: The Aftermath.
The falling rain began to mat the cheetah's fur as he stood outside looking at the dangerous building that lay ahead of him. 'Have I gone crazy?' Leonardo wondered to himself. There he was, sneaking around Shere Khan's backyard in the pouring rain, by himself, trying to find a girl that he'd only met hours earlier. He had no idea where Venus was. All the cheetah knew was that Shere Khan was Venus' Master. With that clue, Leonardo headed in the direction of Shere Khan's bedroom, hoping that Venus might occupy one of the bedrooms nearby. He shivered slightly; partly because of fear, and partly because of the increasing wind that bit into him.
There were a couple of rooms near Shere Khan's bedroom; each having their own balcony and each and every one of them had the light on. The curtains that separated the balconies and rooms were drawn shut, preventing Leonardo from seeing who was inside. All he could do was guess, and pray that he found the correct room. Leonardo sighed tiredly before trying the room that looked like it was going to be the hardest to get into first: the one above the swimming pool. He grunted in effort as he slowly climbed the slippery vines, making his way sideways above the pond, before going upwards towards the balcony. He nimbly hauled himself over the banister and peeped through the curtains. First time lucky.
Venus, still wearing her angel costume, lay face upwards on the bed, her eyes staring off into space. Thoughts about Leonardo and how he was an enemy drifted through her mind. "Psst…" Venus' eyes darted around the room, trying to find the person who'd made the sound. Leonardo poked his head through the curtains. Venus nervously looked around before rushing over to let her guest in.
"What are you doing here? You know they'll kill you if they find you!" Venus whispered.
"I had to see you again," Leonardo said.
"Shh… Shere Khan's just down the hall," Venus reminded him.
"Then we'll have to talk elsewhere." Leonardo took her hand and led her to the balcony.
"But it's pouring outside."
"Oh, it's only water," Leonardo grinned. Venus couldn't help but smile back at his determination.
"Are you crazy?" Venus joked.
"Nope. Just in love." The couple stepped out onto the balcony. The rain continued to dribble down, drenching everything it touched. It only took a few seconds for Venus' costume to become soaked. They both squinted, trying to keep the running water out of their eyes. Leonardo looked over the banister for a way down. The large slick vines looked foreboding and menacing from where they were standing.
"How are we going to get down?" Venus asked the question they were both wondering. Leonardo had an idea. He slipped one leg over the banister then offered his hand to Venus. She looked the hand with uncertainty.
"Do you trust me?" Leonardo asked. He started to become nervous, wondering what it could mean if the answer was 'no'. She could squeal on him at any time. She had the power to, as she was a servant to Shere Khan. It was one of the things he feared the most; being captured. Now would especially be a bad time to be caught because none of his family knew where he was. Relief swept through him when Venus accepted his hand with a sweet smile and sat down beside him. "Hold your breath!"
They jumped off the balcony and splashed into the pool below. It took only a second to recover from the impact, and they quickly resurfaced with no problems. Venus held a shocked expression on her face. She hadn't expected Leonardo to do that. The soggy male cheetah cheekily grinned back. Venus playfully splashed him. He retaliated with his own splash of water. Within moments, a full on water war started. Leonardo and Venus were continually splashing each other, while at the same time, going through bouts of laughter. Venus scrambled out of the pool, hoping she'd have a better advantage on land; not that it really mattered as she was getting wet whether she was in the pool or not. When Leonardo realised that his water splashes were out of range, he jumped out of the pool and managed to grab hold of Venus around her waist, causing her to shriek with laughter.
Soon they both calmed down, their stomachs sore from all the giggling. Leonardo's hold quickly evolved into that of a peaceful hug, something that Venus graciously returned. They held each other for a minute, letting the rain pelt down around them. Venus calmly rested her head on Leo's shoulder. "Do you believe in love at first sight?" Venus sighed, the rain slowly rolling down her forehead and dripping onto Leo's shoulder.
"I do now." Leonardo moved slightly away from Venus so he could look her in the eyes, showing that he meant it. This time there were no fears of Sebastian watching, nor was there anyone to interrupt them. A small smile toyed on Venus' mouth. The rain continued to patter down as the two cheetahs kissed affectionately on the lips. Leonardo couldn't believe what was happening, not that he wasn't enjoying it, but it was just the thought that a few hours earlier he didn't even want to go to this party, and now he was hopelessly in love, enjoying every minute of it.
There was a short awkward silence when they finally broke apart. Venus' eyes glistened with curiosity as she pulled out something from behind Leo's back. "Wow…" Venus said softly, admiring the shiny blade. "Cool sword!" Venus commented. Leonardo smiled.
"It's actually called a katana," he corrected. Leonardo pulled out his second katana to show her that one as well.
"How do you hold it? Do you hold it like this?" Venus asked. Leonardo held his second katana as an example, but Venus still held hers somewhat incorrectly. Leonardo sheathed the sword he was holding and clasped his hands around hers.
"Here. Hold it like this." Leonardo moved her hands further apart and fixed up her grip on the hilt. She smiled in gratitude. "You can have a couple of swings if you want."
"Heh, I don't think I will. I'm scared that I'll chop my hand off or something!" Venus joked. "How long have you had this weapon?"
"About a week and a half now I think."
"Really?… Can you show me a few moves?" Venus asked with an inquisitive tone. Leonardo complied and gently took the single katana out of her hands. He performed a few flashy sword movements, causing little droplets of water to fling off the blade as he swung. "You're pretty good for only a week, I must admit," Venus said, somewhat impressed by his ability. Leonardo changed the topic of conversation.
"So how long have you been working for Shere Khan?" He asked while sheathing his sword after he was finished playing around with it.
"Umm… Actually, I've been here a week and a half as well!"
"Really?… Wow, this conversation's going around in circles!" Leonardo realised. Venus giggled. "So, how come you're working for him?" Leonardo said a bit more seriously.
"Well… I was captured. It's stupid really. I sneaked into Shere Khan's mansion one night to look at this weird book that he had. I only knew about it because I overheard a conversation about it earlier that day. Anyway, while I was there reading the book, the four people who I overheard the conversation from in the first place appeared and took it from me… then I was captured… if that makes any sense… it's complicated."
"I… It does make sense actually…" It finally dawned on Leonardo. He began to feel guilty; guilty because he realised that it was his brothers and him who caused Venus to get caught. Leonardo was one of the four people that were there that night; he had kicked the 'Book of Mutants' out of Venus' grasp and kept her busy with his twin katanas. If they weren't there that night, then Venus might have had another story to tell. "I… I'm sorry. I should have made sure that you escaped…" Leonardo said softly.
"Huh? What? What are you saying?" Venus said, looking confused.
"I… I was the one who held you up… you know, with the katanas. You might have escaped if it wasn't for my brothers and myself…" Leonardo said uncertainly, unsure of what her reaction might be. Venus all at once understood what he was talking about. Surprisingly, she wasn't angry; she couldn't be angry with him.
"It's alright, I suppose. I can't really blame you. As, I think, one of your brother's said, it was your master's book… so as long as it's in the right hands now, then I guess I'm happy. I shouldn't have been there in the first place, so it's my fault anyway," Venus admitted softly. Even though Venus had just said that it wasn't really his fault, Leonardo still felt a little guilty. A question soon came to his mind.
"Why were you looking through the book in the first place?"
"I, um, have lost most of my memories. The last thing I can remember was a burning building. I was sort of hoping that the book that you guys retrieved, might of given me some clues about who I was, since it had the word 'mutant' in the title… but I didn't find anything fast enough… Who is your Master anyway?" Venus asked.
"My Ninja Master is a mutant leopard by the name of Saringai. He's pretty nice once you get to know him. I'll have to get him to meet you one time," Leonardo offered, still wanting to make up for causing her to get caught.
"I would like that," Venus said softly, looking him in the eyes. An idea formed in Leo's brain.
"Come with me… I'll introduce you to my family. It'll be fun. We can leave now, before anyone even realises that you're missing," Leonardo offered enthusiastically. Venus thought about this, then remembered the story Rachel told her about what happened to servants who disobeyed. She shuddered at the thought of what Shere Khan might do to her if she was recaptured.
"I… I can't. You don't know what'll happen to me if they find me again. I can't do that. I can't do that to Rachel… I know that you feel bad because of the whole book incident, and you don't have to make up for it by helping me to escape. In a way. I'm kind of happy that I was caught, 'cause if I wasn't, then I would of never have met Rachel, and we might not have met each other. I hope you can understand… I can't leave. It's not that simple. " Venus explained sadly, her head down. Leonardo nodded slowly in the same depressed emotion.
Lightning started to flicker across the cloudy sky. Loud booms of thunder followed, echoing through the cliffs and valleys of the land. Leonardo looked up at the changing weather; the rain still continuing it's drenching spell. "I should be going…" Leonardo said sadly.
"Will I ever see you again?"
"I'll definitely make a point to try. It could be difficult, you know, me being the enemy of your master and all."
"I don't care about that," Venus admitted, her tone quite serious yet somewhat gentle. Leonardo smiled and started to blush slightly. They both stood there in the rain, looking at each other. "… I thought you said that you had to go?" Venus reminded, using a bit more of a lighter tone this time. There was another lightning flash, soon followed by a loud rumbling in the sky.
"I do. It's just that… I don't really want to go…"
"Same here… then again, I'm getting kinda drenched out here…" Venus joked. Leonardo chuckled and agreed.
"I'll see you later then," Leonardo said awkwardly.
"Goodnight, and good luck", Venus wished. After what seemed one thousand good-byes, they eventually left and walked their separate ways.
Venus strolled back to the pool area by herself, hoping that she could climb back up to her balcony. No such luck. The poor guttering at the top of the building had flooded, creating the waterfall effect Sebastian told her about. Large amounts of water flowed over the slippery vines, making the decision to climb them a dangerous one indeed. Sebastian was right, it was quite beautiful, but it wasn't what Venus needed right now. She grumbled. Venus had no way to get back inside, because if she went through the first floor and up the main staircase, someone would surely see her and ask what she had been doing outside; a question that she couldn't answer. Venus had one last resort. She turned and headed to the other side of the building.
"RACHEL!!!" Venus yelled as loud as she could, up at Rachel's balcony. A female jackal's head popped in-between the drawn curtains a few moments later. Venus waved, catching Rachel's attention. Rachel frowned but didn't ask any questions. A few minutes passed before Rachel returned, this time with a rope made of knotted sheets. Venus used the temporary rope to climb up; Rachel helped by reeling the cheetah in.
Rachel frowned at Venus; her feathery angel wings dripped and drooped and her tinsel halo was now plastered to her head from the bombardment of water it endured. Venus looked at Rachel sheepishly. "What were you doing outside?" Rachel asked in wonderment. Venus bit her lip and didn't answer. "…Were you with someone else outside?" Rachel asked, curiosity brewing. Venus shook her head as 'no'. Rachel gave her a look. Venus' 'no' head shake turned into a 'yes' nod, a small, shy smile forming on her face. Rachel grinned. She knew all there was to know about Venus. The black-backed jackal sat on the bed. "Alright, who was he?"
"Promise you won't tell?"
"I promise… who am I going to tell anyway? Vasha?" Rachel joked.
"His name is Leonardo, you know, Shere Khan's enemy…" Venus said, a bit unsure. Rachel continued to grin.
"Don't be ashamed of that. If you ask me, I think they're all pretty cute!" Rachel said somewhat enthusiastically. Venus looked at her, wondering what Rachel was hiding.
"Ok, what did you get up to at the party?"
"Well, I bumped into Raphael… you know, Leonardo's brother?" Rachel questioned. Venus nodded in understanding. "… And we got talking and we did a bit of dancing… we didn't run around in the rain unlike you though," Rachel said, winking.
"Nothing happened!" Venus protested.
"That's not what I saw at the party!" Rachel teased. Venus bit her lip again, her cheeks heating up a little in embarrassment.
"So are you going for younger guys now are you?" Venus asked, throwing the focus of the conversation back onto to Rachel. Rachel grinned.
"Well… Raphael is pretty cute… Well who do you think I should go for? Sebastian!?! There is no way I'm ever going out with that tiger! No way!… So,… are you going to meet again?" Rachel asked inquisitively. Venus couldn't help but smile. "Oh wow, congratulations!" Rachel exclaimed excitedly. She was extremely happy for Venus because she knew how hard it was to find love in the mutant world. Rachel jumped off the bed and hugged Venus. "Ack! You're wet!… You know, you can get changed in my bathroom. I can get you some dry clothes," Rachel offered, guiding her to the restroom.
"You have your own bathroom?" Venus asked, a bit jealous.
"Yeah… but I had to beg Shere Khan and Vasha for about a month to get it!" Rachel said. Venus stepped into the bathroom and turned to look at Rachel.
"Thanks for doing this," Venus said seriously. Rachel smiled in acceptance before quickly grabbing some dry clothes for Venus. She handed the clothing to her and closed the door, allowing Venus to get changed.
*****
Leonardo plodded up the stairs to the dining room. The weather had slowed his traveling speed down considerably, and he arrived back home at sunrise. Leo was not at all surprised to see Saringai and his brothers sitting there at the table. His brothers seemed to sigh in relief, while Saringai's expression remained firm. "Leonardo, get in here! You're late!" The leopard ordered sharply in a mad tone. Leonardo had never seen him this angry before. He walked over to the table, his outfit dripped droplets of water onto the floor as he moved. He sat down quietly, mentally preparing himself for what could happen next.
"I am very, very disappointed with you. All of you. I specifically told you not to go to the party. What did you do? You all went to the party without my permission. I stayed up all night worrying myself sick. What would have happened if you were captured? Do you have any idea how scared I was last night? Scared that I could have lost all of you, never to get you back." Saringai stopped for a moment, gathering his thoughts on what he could say next. His furious eyes fell on Leonardo.
"And what happened to you last night Leonardo? It's bad enough that I didn't know where you were, but your brothers didn't know either. You know, I thought you were responsible enough to simply tell someone where you're going. Well I guess I was wrong with that assumption. Give me your phone. It's a damn good thing that I made them waterproof!" Saringai ordered. Leonardo slowly took it out of his soggy pocket and handed it to the leopard. Saringai examined it. "It helps if you turn the mobile 'on', then I might have been able to contact you. That goes for the rest of you boys as well. What's the point of having a cell phone if it isn't turned 'on'! From now on I want you all to turn your phones on when you go outside, and if you are on stealth missions, then please put it on 'silent'." Saringai once again paused to gather his thoughts.
"Where were you last night Leonardo anyway?" Saringai asked, voice still firm, his eyes burning into the guilty teenage cheetah. Leonardo couldn't answer. What could he say? 'I'm sorry master, I left my brothers and sneaked back into Shere Khan's mansion so that I could flirt with a girl while standing in the middle of a thunderstorm. By the way, she's a servant of Shere Khan's. I think you'd like to meet her?' He couldn't say that! But he didn't want to lie. So he said nothing. This only pissed Saringai off further.
"Leonardo. You're grounded for a month. You're not even allowed to go outside unless you are given permission to go hunting, and that will be done under supervision," Saringai said sternly. His eyes fell on Michelangelo who had been sulking the whole time. "Raphael, Donatello and Leonardo,… you are dismissed. You are to go to your rooms and prepare for today's classes which should begin shortly." The three brothers quietly stood up and left to go to their respective rooms, leaving their leader behind. Michelangelo gulped nervously.
"Michelangelo, I understand why you went to the party. I know you're curious, and I'm perfectly fine with that. But you went without my permission, and what's worse is that you put your brothers in danger as well. Personally I thought that you would make an excellent leader. You're multitalented, creative, offer support, and you can lighten even the dullest moods. It's just that you lead your followers into danger. I hate to say this, but if you continue to be irresponsible then I'm afraid that you can't be the leader," Saringai analysed, using a softer tone. Tears quickly filled Michelangelo's eyes.
"Please don't take my leadership away from me Master… it's important to me… Please, whatever you do… just don't take it away from me. I promise I'll be more careful… I promise!" Michelangelo blabbered, his tears now falling down his cheeks. Saringai had never seen him this upset. He knew that Michelangelo was in tune with his emotions, but this seemed to really distress him.
"Michelangelo, personally, why do you want to be the leader?" Saringai asked softly.
"It… It was the one of the last things my mother said. She said, 'Now Mikie you're the eldest so you're gonna be in charge till I get back ok'. To me… leadership is like a gift from her… I don't want to fail her… I like being the leader… because… I guess it's her legacy to me… please… please don't take it away from me…," Michelangelo pleaded quite emotionally. What he said touched Saringai deeply. The boys rarely talked about their mother, if at all. Over the past year, he'd gathered from the little information that it was a very painful memory. What Michelangelo just said explained so many things to him.
"Is that why you don't like being called Mikie or Mike because that's what you're mother used to call you?" Saringai questioned softly. Michelangelo nodded with a sniffle. Saringai grabbed a tissue and handed it to his student. Michelangelo took it gratefully and blew his nose.
"So… so what's my punishment?" The cheetah asked bravely.
"Same as Leonardo's… but don't worry, you can remain the leader, just remember, don't lead them into danger ok?" Saringai advised. Michelangelo nodded, happy that he got off lightly considering what his original punishment was. Saringai gave a subtle smile. "Was the party good?" Saringai inquired.
"Yeah, it was fun."
"So what does it finally feel like to be busted?" Raphael asked Leo as they arrived back in their shared bedroom.
"Truthfully, it was worth it." Leonardo admitted. He collapsed onto his bed, tired from sleep deprivation.
"So what did you do last night?" Raphael asked.
"Nothing much," Leonardo answered casually, knowing full well that Raphael was curious as hell. "What did you do?"
"Uh… me? Nothing much… yeah," Raphael answered unconvincingly. Both brothers smiled to themselves, both keeping secrets about the people they had met at the party.
Author's Note: Yes, hexAdecimal, Ever After: A Cinderella Story is one of the movies, and you get 5 points (not that it really counts for anything, just some fun). Below is the quick character summary I promised you guys (note the word 'quick'). It's separated into Good, Evil and Neutral (they work for both sides). The ages are what the characters are now (chapter 15).
Good.
Michelangelo: (State Mutant)15 months old, Male cheetah, brother and leader of Raphael, Donatello and Leonardo (and obviously vice-versa), nunchaku is his weapon of choice. Donatello and him are identical twins.
Raphael: (State Mutant) 15 months old (second eldest of the brothers), male cheetah, weapon is the twin sai blades. Has a 'thing' for Rachel (along with almost every other guy).
Donatello: (State Mutant) 15 months old (third eldest), male cheetah, weapon is the bo. Has a flare for electronics.
Leonardo: (State Mutant) 15 months old (youngest), male cheetah, weapon is the twin katana swords. In love with Venus.
Saringai: (State Mutant (the master is counted as a State Mutant)) 6 years old, male leopard. Ninja master of the 4 cheetah brothers. Also has a flare for electronics. Weapon of choice is the bo. Friends with Zareb.
Evil.
Shere Khan: (State Enemy) 9 years old, male Siberian tiger. Father of Sebastian. Weapon of choice is the twin sai blades. He's family has built an alliance with the mutant lions. Shere Khan is currently in charge (of just about everybody). His main goal now is to get the locals of Ikhaya Labantu to like him, so that they will not turn against him in years to come. He is quite fond of Rachel, hates the State Mutants and dislikes Vasha.
Sebastian: (State Enemy) 3 years old, male Siberian tiger. Son of Shere Khan. In love with Rachel, but has been ordered by his father to get Venus to love him (so his father can win the bet).
Vasha: (State Enemy) 9 years old, female Siberian tigress. Mother of Kathryn. She's Shere Khan's 'advisor'. She hates the State Mutants, hates Shere Khan, hates…. she hates everybody. Has a bet going on with Shere Khan and will stop at nothing to see him fail.
Kathryn: (State Enemy) 3 years old (though younger than Sebastian), female Siberian tigress. Daughter of Vasha. In love with Sebastian. Hates Rachel and dislikes Venus. Tries her best to please her demanding mother.
Galileo: 15 months old, male cheetah. Past unknown but somehow knows of Venus' past. Hates Rachel.
Neutral.
Venus: (State Mutant), 15 months old, female cheetah. Has lost most of her memory. Servant to Shere Khan. In love with Leonardo. Distrusts Sebastian and Galileo. Friends with Rachel. She's currently learning how to be a Shinobi.
Rachel: 2 ½ years old, female black-backed jackal. Servant of Vasha. Secretly dislikes most guys, but has a 'thing' for Raphael. Friend of Venus. Knows some Shinobi spells.
Zareb: 3 years old, male leopard cross lion. One of Shere Khan's advisors but also provides information to Saringai. Has a fantastic reputation with the locals because of what his father did for them.
Others.
Keira: The cub's mother (Michelangelo, Raphael, etc). Female cheetah, was killed by Shere Khan's troops.
Zaila: Saringai's former girlfriend, but was killed by Shere Khan's troops.
Raifu: 6 years old, Saringai's brother. Male leopard. Weapon of choice is the twin sai blade.
Zareb's father: Male leopard, weapon of choice was the twin katana swords (which has now been given to Leonardo). Three years ago, Zareb's father created an army out of the locals of Ikhaya Labantu. Fighting alongside Saringai and Raifu, he led the army and attacked Shere Khan and his followers causing massive damage. Zareb's father was caught soon after and beheaded. The 'Book of Mutants' was stolen off the State Mutants after that.
The word 'Ikhaya Labantu' translates to 'Home to people' in English (… I think).