This chapter takes place directly after season 5, episode 26 of the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles. You don't have to have seen that episode in order to follow the story, but this chapter does refer back to the events in the episode quite a bit. It is one of my favorite episodes, so if you haven't watched it, I encourage you to do so.
CHAPTER ONE: DEMON SLAYER
Telia McVain was afraid.
Of course, fear wasn't an unfamiliar emotion for her. It seemed like in her short eight years of life she'd been afraid more often than not. She knew there had been a time, not so long ago, when things had been different, but it was hard to remember, and when you couldn't remember something, it didn't feel real.
The fear certainly felt real.
There was something moving outside in the hallway.
Telia shrank back against the stone wall behind her, a small whimper escaping before she could choke it back. In her wild imagination she pictured a group of the Black Guard standing right outside, ready to break down the door and sweep her away to their demon master. A shudder wracked her small frame, and she squeezed her eyes tightly closed, trying to block out the terrifying image.
Something moved in the darkness beside her, and Telia would have screamed in fear if a hand hadn't clapped firmly over her mouth, silencing the cry before it was even born.
"Hush Tel,….you have to be quiet!" The words were whisper soft in her ear, the voice familiar and comforting.
She gave a shaky nod, and the hand dropped from her face. Her brother, Talson, shifted silently, hunkering down beside her, a small but appreciated shield between her and whatever might come through the door. They huddled together against the wall, listening intently to the quiet sounds outside. Now that Telia was paying attention she could hear a soft swishing sound, much like a broom being swept methodically across the floor. It was moving steadily down the hall, slowly fading away until she couldn't hear it anymore. Still they sat, silent as stone, listening intently. It was only after several more minutes had passed without a sound that she felt her brother finally relax beside her.
"Quick. We don't have much time," he whispered. "We have to find it and get out of here."
Telia swallowed, nodding into the darkness even though she knew Talson couldn't see her. Her heart was still pounding wildly within her chest, making her want to sink back into the stone wall behind her and disappear.
A flicker of light suddenly chased back the darkness, and she breathed out a small sigh of relief. The candle Talson had lit was small, the wick trimmed short to give off the least amount of light, but even the small illumination was welcome after the suffocating darkness that bred terrors in her imagination.
She glanced around the room, her gaze sweeping over discarded furniture, trunks and crates of varying sizes, and a whole slew of other odds and ends strewn out all over the place. A thick layer of dust covered everything, testament to just how long it had been since anyone had been in here. She felt her heart sink, wondering how they were supposed to find anything in all this, especially since neither of them really knew what they were looking for in the first place.
'Find the Demon Slayer.'
Those were the instructions she'd been given in a vision. She hadn't understood what the words meant, but the urgency behind it had been unmistakable. 'Find the Demon Slayer.' The location had been seared into her mind, the directions flashing through her head and stored to memory all in the time it took to take a single breath. No other details had been offered. She didn't know what the Demon Slayer was, or even what it looked like. She only knew that finding it was vitally important—that her fate, as well as the fate of many others, depended on it.
The vision had frightened Telia. Nothing like that had ever happened to her before. Visions and premonitions were the things of soothsayers and fortune tellers, not eight-year old girls. She hadn't really known how to react, and for two whole days she'd done her best to convince herself it had all been in her imagination. But then the vision had come again, exactly as the first, and Telia had known it wasn't something that could be ignored.
That was when the fear had really set in. The Demon Slayer had to be found, but to do so, she would have to leave the safety of the sanctuary and travel to the First Lord's manor. A manor that lay deep in the city of Valgard, where black guards patrolled and the Soul Eater himself dwelt. It seemed such an impossible task.
Yet even as fear and dread left her weak and shaking, a new emotion had begun to creep in. Hope had long been a stranger in their world, but she'd felt its stirrings awakening within her soul. The more she thought about the vision, the more convinced she became that finding the Demon Slayer wasn't so impossible after all, and maybe, just maybe, it would prove to be the key to fixing the mess their world had become. If so, wouldn't it be worth the danger?
Hope, it turned out, was stronger than fear, and now Telia was finally here, standing in the room of her vision, waiting to see what fate had in store for them next.
"Are you sure were in the right place, Tel," Talson asked, bleakly glancing around at the piles of junk before turning to look at her. His face, illuminated by the flickering flame of the candle, was worried and solemn in a way that no ten-year-old should ever have to be. Telia could remember a time when Talson had been lighthearted and full of laughter, always quick to tell a joke or engage in a mischievous prank. That time was long gone now.
"I'm sure," she whispered. "This is the room, Tal. I'm sure of it."
He nodded, accepting her word without question. Telia was warmed by his unwavering belief in her. When all the others had thought she was crazy, Talson alone had stood by her. She was grateful. Without him she wasn't sure she would have ever had the courage to come this far.
"Let's split up and look around," Talson suggested. "You take that half of the room, and I'll look over here. Hopefully we'll know it when we find it."
Telia nodded, fervently praying her brother was right. She forced her feet to carry her forward, heading toward the opposite corner from her brother.
Finding a small trunk sitting atop a broken table, she flipped open the rusty lid and peered inside, wrinkling her nose at the moldy smell that drifted out from the shadowed interior. She quickly shut the lid again, moving on to sift through the other piles of junk surrounding her, searching as best she could in the dim light.
The minutes slipped by as they searched on in silence, moving methodically throughout the room. Talson seemed to be ignoring the smaller bags and crates in favor of the larger items. He was convinced the Demon Slayer had to be some kind of weapon; a sword, or spear, or axe with some great magical power. Telia wasn't quite so sure. She hated the thought that they might inadvertently miss what they'd risked so much to come and find just because they didn't know what it was they were looking for.
A large hutch in the far corner caught her eye, and she moved over to it, staring up in wonder as it towered high above her. The hutch had obviously been quite beautiful at one time, with flowing, graceful lines and intricate scrollwork. Unfortunately, age and damage had left it scarred and twisted, leaning heavily to one side. Most of the glass had been broken from the shelving, leaving only a few cracked and dusty panes to cast her dim reflection back at her.
She couldn't reach the upper shelves, so instead she grabbed the knob of one of the lower drawers. The drawer resisted when she pulled on it, so she yanked harder, only to let out a small cry of alarm as the hutch rocked forward dangerously. For a terrified second she was afraid the entire thing was going to come crashing down, but it only swayed back and forth for a moment or two before steadying once more.
Before she could release a sigh of relief, a small noise drew her gaze up to one of the high shelves. Something round and metallic was rolling along the edge of the shelf, and even as she watched it tipped over the side and plunged toward the floor. She gasped and made a wild grab for it, terrified of the noise it might make if it hit the ground. Her fingers closed around it, but as soon as she touched it a tingling heat shot through her hand and up her arm, causing her to yelp and drop it again.
She didn't see it hit the floor, but she certainly heard it. Like a mighty gong struck by a powerful hand the room was suddenly filled with a strong metallic note, the sound clear and sharp. And loud. Very loud. She was astounded that such a small item could possibly make such a huge noise.
Panic gripped her, and she looked across the room in time to catch Talson's wide-eyed gaze. The black guard had notoriously sharp ears. If any of them had heard the noise they were undoubtably on their way to investigate. They were out of time.
She took a step towards her brother, but drew up short as a sudden roaring sound filled the room, strong enough that she imagined she could feel the very stones beneath her feet shaking with it. Distantly she thought she heard her brother scream her name, but she could no longer see him, a bright white light filling the room and blinding her. She tried to race forward to the last place she had seen him, but before she could move a pulse of energy surged through the room, strong enough it knocked her from her feet and onto the dusty floor.
She had time for a single, terrified scream before the noise and light suddenly vanished, plunging everything into blackness.
TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT
Leonardo Hamato was exhausted.
He wanted nothing more than to crawl to his bed and sleep for a week! He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so worn out, his body battered and bruised and aching fiercely. He was suffering from the adrenaline dump of the century, not to mention the still lingering emotional overload of a battle he had never really expected to walk away from. A battle he almost hadn't walked away from. All of it combined left him feeling numb and drained, like a balloon with all the air let out.
"Done."
Donnie's voice drifted to him through the haze of exhaustion, and Leo reluctantly forced himself to focus in on his brother. The purple banded turtle was kneeling in front of him, critical brown eyes sweeping his frame up and down, the battered old toolbox they used as the family med kit sitting close by. They were in the main room of the lair, Leo sitting slouched on the stone bench where he had all but collapsed the moment they got home.
"Not as many stitches as I expected," Donnie stated evenly, "but you've got a lot of bruises you're going to be feeling in the morning."
Leo let out a small grunt. "Feeling them now," he muttered wearily.
Donnie gave him a sympathetic look. "I bet," he murmured. "How's the arm?"
Leo glanced down to where his brother had bound his splinted arm across his plastron with layer after layer of bandages, effectively immobilizing the broken limb. It still ached fiercely, but the pain was better than it had been before…the trade-off being that Leo looked like an extra from an old mummy movie. "It's good," he replied, then added earnestly, "Thanks for patching me up, Donnie."
Machines and engineering were Donnie's specialty, but his sharp mind, steady hands, and tendency to keep a cool head made him the natural choice for family medic as well. Leo knew it was one of his brother's least favorite tasks, but he took it seriously and was good at it.
"No problem," Donnie replied distractedly, his nimble fingers moving quickly to pack up the supplies. "Hopefully I can scrounge up what I need to make you a proper cast in the morning, after the swelling has gone down a bit. In the meantime, try not to move around too much, okay?"
Leo nodded his agreement, certain he would have no problem following that particular order. The only movement he intended to make was straight to bed…and that as soon as he could muster enough energy to get his weary body the few steps to his room.
"I'm going to check on Raph," Donnie stated, grabbing up the tool box and pushing himself gingerly to his feet, the small grimace that flashed across his face a reminder to Leo that he wasn't the only one who had bruises that weren't waiting until morning to make themselves known.
…Donnie's face was a mask of determination and defiance as he rocketed down from the sky, the bladed tip of his Bo aimed straight for Shredder's deformed heart…
"Leo?"
Blinking open eyes he hadn't realized he shut, Leo saw that April had somehow taken Donnie's place in front of him. There was a purple bruise marring her cheek, and the dark circles beneath her eyes were pronounced against her pale face, but she still mustered up a small smile for him.
"I brought the pain pills Donnie asked me to grab," she stated, holding out one hand. "And something to wash it down with," she added, saluting him with the glass of water held in the other.
Leo nodded his appreciation, then forced his aching body into a slightly more upright position before reaching for the water and pills. April handed them over, and Leo swallowed the meds without looking to see what they were, draining the glass in a few gulps. The water helped revive him a bit, and he pushed aside his weariness to focus on their human friend.
"How are you doing?" he asked quietly, his eyes tracing the bruise across her cheek.
April grimaced, shaking her head at him. "That's something I should be asking you," she objected. "You're the one who had a flaming rooftop death match with the Shredder, remember?!"
Leo grunted. "Hard to forget," he answered blandly. "Still, I asked first."
April rolled her eyes, giving in with a small sigh. "I'm alright. A little achy, but nothing serious. My battle was more mental than physical. I drained my powers dry tonight, Leo. That's never happened to me before."
… "I…can't…hold it…any longer, guys!" April's strained voice rang through the night a second before the invisible force holding them in midair disappeared, leaving them plunging through darkness toward the rooftop below…
Shaking away the memory, Leo nodded solemnly. "You did a lot for us," he told her softly. "We wouldn't have even made it to the Shredder if it wasn't for you."
April accepted the praise with a small shrug, dropping her gaze, her fingers picking at a singed spot on the hem of her shirt. "I was so afraid I was going to fail," she admitted, an uncharacteristic quaver to her voice. "There at the end…I was afraid I wouldn't have the strength to catch you all. Raph wanted me to get him back up to the rooftop…he was begging me to…but I just couldn't. I was done! I needed to have enough strength to catch you if you fell, and I wasn't sure I would! It was terrifying! But then you never did fall, and that was even more scary." She paused, lifting her head to look at him once more, her dark eyes shadowed. "We thought we'd lost you," she finished, her voice little more than a whisper.
Leo winced, and this time he was the one who looked away, unable to meet her gaze. "I know…," he mumbled, not knowing what else to say. He'd seen his brothers' faces when he'd reunited with them after the battle was over. It was obvious they had thought he was dead, and he regretted the grief and fear he had caused them, however briefly. It was a fear he understood only too well. When Shredder had cast them one by one from the roof, Leo had hoped April was there to catch them, but he hadn't known. His fear for them had been overwhelming, but he'd had to push it aside in order to focus on Shredder.
"At least it's over now," April stated softly, rolling her shoulders slightly, as though dislodging an invisible weight.
Before Leo could answer there was an angry exclamation from across the pit, followed immediately by a thump and a loud crash. April twisted around at the noise, and Leo was able to see past her to the scene playing out on the far side of the room.
Raph was standing on the stone bench across from them, body tense, green eyes wide with confused surprise. In the pit below him Donnie was sitting on his shell, the contents of the dropped med box strewn out all around him.
"What the shell, Donnie?" Raph spluttered indignantly, piercing the purple banded turtle with an accusing glare.
From his vantage point Leo couldn't see Donnie's face, but he could see the way his brother stiffened. "What do you mean, "what the shell"?" Donnie snapped "I was trying to help you and you pushed me off the bench!"
"I was half-asleep!" Raph thundered. "What did you think was going to happen when you started poking at me!?"
"I wasn't poking!" Donnie shouted back, pushing himself angrily to his feet. "I was checking to see if you were hurt, you stupid Neanderthal! Excuse me for caring! Obviously, you don't need my help! Obviously, you're just fine!"
"Obviously," Raph repeated, crossing his arms across his chest defiantly, his stance ironically putting on conspicuous display the numerous scrapes and bruises that decorated much of his exposed skin.
…The Shredder roared as he leapt forward, grabbing Raph in mid-air by the back of his shell before turning and slamming him violently down onto the unforgiving surface of the roof…
"Fine!" Donnie ground out, stooping to grab at the spilled supplies around him, shoving them roughly back in the toolbox. "Don't come crying to me when your wounds go septic and you end up losing a limb!"
Raph merely rolled his eyes, unimpressed with Donnie's dire warning.
Leo studied his hot-headed brother carefully from across the room. Raph certainly looked rough, but Leo knew much of it was merely surface level. There was no doubt Raph had taken a beating…they all had…but his thicker build and natural strength allowed him to shake it off easier than the rest of them might. He probably really was fine.
"Hey guys, I'm back!" Mikey's voice suddenly rang out from the entrance to the lair, drawing all eyes as he jumped the turn-styles and walked toward them. "I heard shouting," he observed, eyes curiously sweeping the room. "What's going on?"
"Nothing, knucklehead," Raph huffed. "Donnie's just playing the over-dramatic doctor again."
Donnie straightened indignantly, his mouth opening to fire off a retort, but Leo spoke before he had a chance. "Enough," he ordered, his voice weary but firm. "Just let it go, Donnie."
Donnie glanced over at him, looking mutinous, but after a moment he shut his mouth and settled for a sullen glare in Raph's direction instead. Leo was surprised, but grateful. Not too long ago he was pretty sure his order would have been ignored outright. A lot had changed in the last couple of weeks.
"Okaaaay," Mikey said slowly, drawing the word out dramatically as his eyes darted back and forth between Raph and Donnie. He moved forward to flop down on the bench beside Leo, turning to give his oldest brother a confused look. "What did I miss?"
Leo gave his head a small shake. "Nothing, Mikey. We're all just tired and tempers are short. You know how it is."
Mikey nodded, picking absently at a spot of soot smeared across his arm. With his brother sitting so close, Leo could detect the subtle smell of smoke still lingering around his form.
…Mikey's nunchucks were ablaze, spinning and twisting around him in a mesmerizing pattern, the fire licking up the weapons matching the fire in his eyes as he screamed out a battle cry and launched himself forward…
"Did Casey make it home okay?" April asked Mikey, sinking down to sit cross-legged on the floor of the pit. "I can't believe that doofus still manages to get lost down here," she added, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "He's only been here a thousand times!"
"He knows the way, he just gets distracted easily," Raph defended, moving from across the room to join them, sitting down on the bench on Leo's left.
"I walked him to the 16th street manhole," Mikey assured her. "He'd have to be trying to get lost from there. He should have plenty of time to make it home, clean himself up, and still get to his sister's recital." He grinned. "He wasn't too happy, but I promised him we'd wait for him before we celebrate."
Celebrate?
Leo cringed inwardly. The idea of celebrating hadn't even crossed his mind. He could clearly remember the last time he and his brothers had thought they had defeated the Shredder. They had certainly celebrated then, with music, dancing, food, and a lot of noise. Splinter had watched their wild antics with patient amusement, allowing them to carry on for much longer than Leo had expected.
It was different this time, though. This time Leo didn't feel much like celebrating at all. The satisfaction of their victory was muted by pain and exhaustion, not to mention the disquieting feeling that their success had come too late…had cost too much.
At least this time the Shredder really was dead. Leo had separated the Demon's head from his body with his own sword. His father was avenged…his family finally safe from Saki's madness. It was all he had a right to ask for.
Of course, Mikey being Mikey, Leo doubted his brother would see it the same way. He was probably even now planning a celebration party to rival all parties. With Splinter gone, it would fall to Leo to keep his brother reigned in lest things get completely out of control. The very thought left him feeling more exhausted than he already was.
April apparently shared his view. "Mikey, we're all very tired right now," she stated evenly. "Can we just focus on getting some rest?"
Mikey snorted, waving one hand dismissively. "Relax," he sniffed. "I already told you I promised Casey we'd wait for him, so obviously we're not having the party now."
Leo let out a relieved sigh. "Good." He stated wearily. "In that case, I'm going to bed!"
"Hold up." Mikey yelped, staring at him incredulously. "You can't go to sleep yet!"
"Actually, Mikey, I'm pretty sure I can." Leo disagreed, mentally preparing himself for the monumental task of getting up and walking to his room. "And don't expect me to wake up anytime soon, either."
"That's why you can't go!" Mikey retorted. "You haven't told us what happened between you and the Shredder yet! You haven't told us how you defeated him!"
Leo paused, frowning. He realized that his brother was right. They hadn't talked much during their trip back from Saki's mansion, each of them using the time to simply process everything that had happened…to revel in the fact they had all somehow made it out alive. Everything had seemed so surreal that none of them had been quite ready to talk about it yet.
"I have been wondering how you managed it, Leo." Raph stated quietly, casting him an almost guilty look. "I was pretty much convinced the guy was invincible. Especially after Donnie's retro-mutagen failed to work on him."
"It wasn't my fault!" Donnie objected, placing the newly packed toolbox on the stone bench before sinking to the floor beside April. "Shredder's mutation was unique to anything we had ever seen before. Whatever Stockman did to him must have made him impervious to the active ingredients in the retro-mutagen!"
"Relax, Donnie," Raph drawled lightly. "I wasn't blaming you, just making a point."
"I still can't believe I missed the entire fight!" April chimed in, sounding put out.
"You didn't miss much," Donnie grunted. "Except maybe watching us all getting our shells handed to us. Raph's right, Leo…how on earth did you manage to beat that guy!?"
Leo suddenly found himself the focus of four curious sets of eyes. He shifted uncomfortably, not at all sure he was ready to talk about all this just yet. He hadn't let himself think much about his battle with Saki, mostly because he was tired and hurting, and the implications of it all were just too overwhelming.
Sensing his hesitancy, Mikey scooted in closer, employing the full use of his puppy dog eyes. "Please Leo?" he begged. "We really, really, really want to know."
Leo hesitated for one moment longer, then slowly nodded, knowing it was unfair to ask his family to wait. He knew if their positions had been reversed he'd be every bit as anxious to hear the story.
"I was scared out of my shell," he began softly, his gaze fixed somewhere in the distance as he allowed himself to remember. "But I think I was too angry to even realize it. I didn't know if you guys were okay or not, but I couldn't think about that. I knew I needed to focus if I was going to stand any chance of defeating him…"
…The monster that had once been Oraku Saki stalked toward him from across the roof, the reflection of the growing fire around them flickering and playing off the grotesque blades protruding from his deformed body. From deep within his helmet his eyes glowed with a demonic light that matched the glow from the pulsing heart in the center of his chest.
Leo watched his approach, rage and hate burning through his veins with an intensity that left him shaking. Here before him was the man who had caused his family so much grief and pain. The man who had hunted and tormented them for years, obsessed with his delusional need for revenge. The man who had willingly transformed himself into a monster just so he would have the strength to destroy them.
The man who had killed his father!
With a snarl, Leo squared his feet and prepared to meet him.
Shredder leapt forward, bladed forearm sweeping down in a powerful overhead strike. With one smooth motion Leo lifted his swords, crossing them in front of him just in time to block the blow. A grunt of effort burst from his lungs as he leaned his weight into the block, glaring across their tangled weapons at the monster before him.
"You killed him!" he grated out, his voice hoarse from a mixture of effort and emotion. "He was your brother, and you killed him!"
The Shredder let out a fierce growl of anger, jerking his blades free even as he spun, sending a sweeping kick into Leo's side. For all his size he was still fast, and even though Leo was able to block the blow, the sheer strength behind it still sent him stumbling back several steps.
He regained his balance quickly, holding his swords ready before him as he started circling warily, searching for an opening. Words spilled from his mouth, fueled by hurt and anger, and he didn't even try to stop them. "He was your brother Saki! Your best friend! How could you do that?!" He hadn't finished speaking before he was launching himself forward, leaping high into the air and bringing his blades down in a sweeping arc aimed at Shredder's head.
Saki blocked the blow with his forearm, thrusting back with such strength that Leo felt himself flying backwards, struggling to maintain his balance. He hopped on top of a nearby air conditioning unit, then quickly had to leap clear as Shredder stalked forward and kicked the unit straight out from underneath him.
"Splinter was cursed to become a loathsome rat!" Saki snarled, advancing purposefully, his eyes glittering with hate.
Sensing the edge of the roof at his back, Leo attempted to flip up and over Shredder's head, hoping to buy himself more room. He didn't quite make it. He felt the moment Saki's fists latched on to the lip of his plastron, yanking him from the air and slamming him violently into the side of a raised vent. Still grasping his shell tightly, Saki then drove him forcefully to the ground, the impact strong enough that Leo lost hold of one of his swords, the blade spinning away to land tip first in the loose gravel several feet away.
"It was his fate!" Saki screamed, jerking Leo back upright, his long claws cutting into the sensitive skin between plastron and neck. With one powerful movement he thrust Leo out and over the edge of the rooftop, holding him suspended in mid-air, his eyes flashing triumphantly. "His destiny!"
Leo let out an angry snarl, twisting in Shredders grip, uncaring of the empty air looming beneath his feet, or the claws ripping into his flesh. How dare the Shredder insult Master Splinter! His father's mutation had been unintentional, and though it had changed his appearance, the kindness and goodness of his soul had been left untouched. The same couldn't be said for Saki. Leo doubted there had ever been anything good in the twisted creature before him!
"You're a monster!" he spat out, his voice filled with all the disgust and loathing he could muster. "A Demon! Is that your destiny?!"
To his surprise Shredder seemed to shrink back from his words, something hesitant flickering in his gaze for the first time. "No," he muttered, his grip on Leo slackening ever so slightly. "I…I…"
Seeing his chance, Leo struck out. With an adrenaline born cry, he lifted his remaining sword and drove it with all the force he could muster straight at Saki's face.
At the very last moment Shredder jerked away, causing the blade tip to glance off the edge of his helmet instead. Before Leo could recover, Shredder reached out and grabbed his left arm in an iron grip, his glowing eyes flickering with malicious intent as he bunched his muscles and squeezed.
Leo cried out in agony as he felt the bone in his forearm give way with a sharp crack. His sword tumbled from his suddenly nerveless fingers, bouncing off the edge of the roof before plummeting down into the darkness below. He never saw where it landed. With contemptuous ease Shredder jerked him around, tossed him in the air, and then punched him in the chest with all the force of a speeding freight train.
Leo had a split second to see the blow coming and try to curl his body away, but caught in mid-air as he was there was little he could do to avoid it. The punch landed with a sickening crack, and then he was careening back through the air, bouncing and tumbling against the rough gravel of the roof before finally skidding to a halt with one leg dangling dangerously from the far edge.
For a single heartbeat all he felt was numb, but in the next instant the numbness was replaced with searing pain. If he'd had any air left in his lungs he might have screamed again. But there was no air left, just as there was no strength left in his limbs. Internally he was shouting at himself to get up, but his body seemed unable to follow his brain's command. He felt like a puppet whose strings had been cut, limp and helpless as the Shredder stalked forward, death in his eyes.
In that moment Leo knew he had failed. He was exhausted and broken, unable to muster the strength to even rise, let alone fight back. He had been arrogant, thinking he could somehow succeed in defeating the Super Shredder, when even Master Splinter had failed at the task. It has been impossible from the start. Shredder was too powerful! He should have known it, but in his pride and thirst for vengeance he had refused to see it. He had led his family straight into the lion's den, thinking they would succeed by sheer force of will.
What a fool he had been!
Shredder reached him, looming over his limp form, a flick of his wrist bringing forth the lethally sharp blades on his fist. "And now you die," he growled, eyes cold, voice filled with contemp. He raised his bladed hand above his head, prepared for the final strike.
Time seemed to slow. Leo felt his body tensing in preparation for the blow he knew was coming, even as a flicker of movement behind the Shredder caught his attention. His eyes widened as he recognized the figure of his beloved father and Sensei standing amidst the dancing flames of the fire. Splinter was staring at Leo with calm intensity, his brown eyes reflecting the same unwavering confidence he had always given whenever Leo was struggling to master a new move or technique. It was a look that spoke of complete faith in Leo's success…a look that made failure not even a remote possibility.
'Leonardo!' His name was filled with warmth and love, but also with a steely note of command. 'Fear nothing!'
In the blink of an eye Leo felt his pain vanish, banished to some remote part of his brain where it couldn't distract him. In its absence his strength returned, sweeping through him with power and renewed purpose. He was moving before he even fully realized it, instinct taking over. With a mighty shove he was off the ground, leaping above Saki's strike all in one smooth, graceful motion. As soon as his feet hit the ground he was moving again, weaving to the side and darting behind the Shredder, only to twist back around to land a two footed kick straight to the Demon's back.
Shredder, already thrown off balance by Leo's sudden disappearance from in front of him, stumbled and nearly went down, letting out a sharp grunt of surprise. Leo took advantage of his confusion and moved in with a flurry of spins and kicks almost too fast to be seen, eliciting a roar of rage from his opponent. He followed the kicks up with a roundhouse punch to the face that sent Shredder reeling backward, completely off balance. All of this bought Leo the precious seconds needed to flip across the roof and grab the handle of his remaining blade, pulling it free from the rooftop and crouching, ready to spring.
Several yards away the Shredder had recovered from Leo's punch and had also turned, his face a mask of animal rage. For a split second their gazes met, and then both were leaping forward, twin screams of fury and hate echoing through the night, naked blades extended.
In a flash Leo saw his opening, and without hesitation he went for it, sword arcing out in in a sweeping attack that left him dangerously exposed. The bold move surprised Shredder, and he hesitated for a split second, his dark eyes flashing uncertainty as he tried to figure out if Leo's move was real, or just a feint. That second was all Leo needed. The edge of his blade found the Demon's neck, all the power he could muster channeled into that single, desperate strike.
And as quickly as that, the battle was over.
Silence descended on the lair as Leo finished his story. He let his gaze travel over each of his family, trying to gauge their reactions. Donnie and Raph both looked stunned, April looked thoughtful, but Mikey had an expression of open longing on his round face that made Leo's heart squeeze painfully.
"You really saw him?" the orange banded turtle asked softly, and no one had to ask who he was referring to.
Leo gave his brother a gentle smile. "Yeah Mikey…I saw him," he answered quietly. "He saved me, of that I have no doubt."
Mikey nodded slowly, the longing still painted across his freckled face. "I wish…I wish I could have seen him too…one last time," he mumbled softly.
There wasn't much Leo could say to that, so he said nothing at all, just reached out so he could swing his uninjured arm up and around his little brother's shoulders. Mikey leaned into him, accepting the comfort he was offering, and they all sat for a few moments in a silence born from shared grief.
"Never thought we'd see the day when Shredder was finally defeated," April finally commented, slouching down with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. "Feels kinda weird not having to worry about him out there somewhere plotting our demise."
"Yeah," Raph agreed solemnly. "But we can't forget about the rest of his crew. We have no way of knowing if Baxter Stockman escaped the house before it burned. Or Beebop and Rocksteady either, for that matter. It would be nice not to have to worry about those goons anymore."
"What about Tiger claw?" Donnie added. "I think it's wishful thinking to assume an arrow through his jet pack would be enough to end him."
"Maybe not," April conceded, "but even if they did survive, without the Shredder to unite them, can you honestly see those guys sticking together?" She shrugged. "I'm not saying we'll never have to worry about them again, but I doubt they'll ever be the threat they once were."
No one contradicted her, and the talk moved to other things. Leo tried to listen to the conversations around him, but it was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open. Eventually he found his head resting against Raph's shoulder (when had his brother scooted in so close?), his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. Without realizing it he must have drifted off, because the next thing he knew he was jerking awake as Raph shifted beneath him, murmuring something down in his ear.
"Huh?" Leo mumbled groggily, knowing he should probably sit up and give Raph his shoulder back, but just too tired to do it.
"I said," Raph's voice repeated, fondly gruff, "It's time to get some sleep."
"…was asleep," Leo slurred, still making no effort to open his eyes or lift his head.
"I know," Raph grunted. "But I'd like to sleep as well, and I can't do that with you drooling all over my shoulder. Besides, you'll sleep better with an actual pillow."
Leo groaned. He didn't want to move. His bedroom was too far away.
Either Raph was a mind reader, or Leo had spoken aloud without realizing it, because his brother let out a small chuckle. "Relax, Leo. You don't have to go anywhere. Mikey and April are grabbing some blankets and pillows, and Donnie is getting you another dose of painkiller so you'll hopefully be able to sleep through the night. You just have to wake up long enough to take 'em, and then you can go right back to dreamland."
As of to punctuate his words soft footsteps approached from across the room, and Leo knew without opening his eyes that April had returned. A soft plop of blankets hitting the floor somewhere nearby confirmed his theory.
"Aww, he looks so cute sleeping like that," she whispered.
Raph cleared his throat self-consciously. "Uh…he's awake."
"No, I'm not," Leo denied, his eyes still stubbornly closed.
April let out an embarrassed chuckle. "Oh, hey Leo." An awkward silence, then… "Maybe I should take this opportunity to warn you that Mikey is trying to come up with a new nickname for you. He's told me a few of his ideas, and they're…umm…unique."
Leo groaned, his eyes finally opening fully, his head lifting from his brother's shoulder through a sheer effort of will. He focused on April blearily, choosing to ignore the way Raph was making a big production of rotating his shoulder and grimacing. "Please tell me you're joking," he muttered.
April just shook her head. "Nope. 'Fraid not. How would you like to be called the "Shred-Head-Anator?" Or the "Mighty Vanquisher of Evil"…MVE for short? I think those were his two favorites?"
It was Raph's turn to groan. Leo could only stare up at her, his mouth gaping open in silent horror. He was way too tired to deal with this right now.
"Oh good, you got him awake." Donnie was back, heading across the room with a glass of water in one hand and a couple of pills cupped in the other. Mikey came right behind him, another pile of blankets in his arms and a look of such innocence on his face that Leo felt instantly alarmed.
"Mikey…" he started, only to be interrupted by his youngest brother.
"I've got it!" Mikey crowed, completely ignoring Leo's warning look. "It's perfect!" He dropped the blankets and struck a heroic pose, one finger raised dramatically into the air. "From now on, I'm going to call you… "Demon Slayer!"
The echo of Mikey's words hadn't even faded away before several things happened at once. A thunderclap of sound suddenly filled the room at the same time the lights flickered once and then died, plunging the lair into absolute darkness. Leo opened his mouth to call out to the others, but the words died in his throat as something…a force that wrapped itself around his entire being…grabbed hold of him and yanked him backwards into the unknown.