Disclaimer: As always, nothing's changed and I still don't own them.
WARNING: The content of this chapter talks about and details drug use and the effects that they have.I know that this gives something away about the chapter, but I'd rather peoplewho may be sensitive to that sort of thing know before handthan get into trouble for not giving suitable warning for it.
Chapter 6.
Raphael searched the house frantically. Leo had disappeared again and his brothers had left to search the barn and woodland, they had done this many times and had always been worried about his absence but invariably found him safe and sound in some secluded part of the farmhouse. This time was no different except that today Leo had found a quiet spot in the utility room set off from the kitchen, another place to add to the list to check if he disappeared again. It was dark inside the small room, there were no windows and the lights had been kept off, the only light came from the open door but it was obviously enough for what Leo was doing. His back was to the door and his shoulders hunched over as he focused on something on the wall. Raph whispered gently, knowing that Leo was startled easily.
"What're you doing, bro?"
Leo's head snapped around and he flew up and away from the wall, he glanced fearfully at his brother and moved his head roughly from side to side, "Please don't be angry, I'll clean it off, I promise!"
Raph stepped back slightly, signalling to Leo that he wasn't a threat, "Clean what off?" he slowly lifted his hand to the light switch and flicked it up, the room flooded with light and the wall that Leo had been so focused on became clearer.
Raphael's jaw dropped…
A picture of Splinter with his body pinned to the wall by a katana through his chest, a picture of Mike as he thrashed around in a sealed tank that slowly filled with water. Don tied to a table, screaming in agony as the scalpel cut through his plastron, and Raphael standing side by side with Oroku Saki smiling as he watched.
"What the hell is this!" he screamed and Leo darted for the door. Raphael grabbed his arms and yanked him back, his grip was tight and he could feel Leo shaking. "What the hell are you doing?" Raphael glared at him and Leo's eyes widened frightfully.
"TELL ME!" he bellowed.
"D… Demons. In the paintings, they're trapped in the paintings. They can't get me if I trap them in the paintings, they want to hurt me and I won't let them. Don told me to do that! He told me to scare the demons away! Don did!" Leo rambled frantically, he was scared that his brother would hurt him and fearful that he would be punished for what he had done.
Raphael calmed slowly as his brother babbled on, he knew it wasn't Leo's fault that he acted like this and his initial shock was beginning to subside. He took several deep breaths to try and compose himself and looked at the paintings again, they were hideous and he wondered from where these images came. The best thing to do was ask.
"Leo, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you, calm down." He eased his pressure but still kept a hold on Leo's arms. "Where did these pictures come from?"
Leo shuddered as he turned his head towards the detailed images on the wall, his breathing eased as if he had completely forgotten the events from a moment ago.
"They're my nightmares. He made me see them, he still makes me see them."
"Who? Saki?"
Leo nodded.
"Talk to me, Leo. What did he do to you?" Raphael gently pushed Leo towards the wall and gestured to the paintings, "Tell me what he did to show you this… this nightmare."
Leo stared at the wall with a morbid fascination, his head tilted to one side as he thought about that day, "He injected me with something…"
They dragged him along the corridor, the injection earlier had begun to take effect and he knew that now it was time for his next session. The light in the room was bright and he squinted his eyes to keep his vision clear, the usual colours drifted and blended together, causing a rainbow effect and he thought for a moment that he could smell the greenish blue hues above all of the rest. He shook his head for clarity but it didn't help as the room began to spin. He grunted as they threw him into the chair and began to tie his limbs, the sound of the leather as it scraped against his flesh reverberated through his brain and his head lolled back with dizziness. Everything became sensitive, his flesh, his hearing and his eyesight. He knew that he had been dosed up with some form of drug but he had no idea what it could be.
"L.S.D." Saki said as he approached and began to circle Leo, "is a powerful narcotic that makes the user susceptible to suggestion, an ideal substance for what I have planned for you today."
"L.S…D?" Leo slurred, the full effects now taking hold. Saki cupped Leo's chin and lifted his head to face him.
"Yes, Leonardo. L.S.D. Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, potent in many forms and with the right amount it can cause hallucinations that can frighten even the strongest into an early grave. I hope that that doesn't happen with you, I really do enjoy your company." Saki smiled as he stared into Leo's eyes.
"He gave you L.S.D?" Raph whispered, slightly stunned, Leo didn't seem to notice the question.
"He made me see things. I saw these." He pointed to the paintings.
"Your father is dead! Look at him!"
"NO! He's not! This isn't real! Not real!"
But it felt real and Leo couldn't stop the tears from flowing down his cheeks as his father's lifeless eyes stared down at him, the last words spoken were curses at his dishonourable son.
"And what of your youngest brother? Are you going to let him drown?"
The tank filled with water and Mike frantically slammed his fists against the glass, his screams filling Leo's ears as he pleaded for his brother to save him.
"LEO! HELP ME! PLEASE!"
"MIKE!" Leo's head spun towards Saki, "Don't do this! Please, don't!"
Saki gently stroked Leo's head, his words whispered and calm, "You can make this stop, Leonardo. You know what you must do."
Leo's head was spinning, reality and fantasy mingling together to confuse him further. This wasn't real and yet it was, it seemed real.
"No! This… This isn't real. That's not Mike! It's not!"
"LEO!" Mike's head disappeared beneath the water, his movements becoming frantic. A moment later, his eyes began to close slowly and his body began to still when finally it ceased and Leo watched another family member die.
"STOP THIS! Please… Stop."
"Join the winning side, bro. If you do, it will stop."
Leo's head turned slowly away from Saki and his eyes widened as Raph grinned back at him, he tried to speak but the words wouldn't form.
"It ain't that bad, Leo. You get treated real good here, good food, good lifestyle, everything that we could ever want. It's all here for us, just say the word, bro."
Leo shook his head madly, he couldn't believe that this was real, it simply couldn't happen. It would never happen and yet there was something inside of him making this all very real, something that controlled his reality and made it a nightmare. His brother had sided with the enemy and was willingly watching his family as they were slaughtered before his very eyes, could he be that cold? Could he really allow this to happen? No. There was no way that Saki could turn his brother, he knew that Raph hated Saki as much as he did, it simply couldn't happen. Raphael was quick tempered and frustrated most of the time but his heart was a good one, his family meant everything to him.
"Even the best of us turn, Leo. Life gives us options and we choose the path that suits us best. I chose this path. You should too." Raphael replied as if reading Leo's mind.
"No… You can't choose his side! Raph! Don't do this! Save them!"
Raphael's smile dropped and he glared at Leo, closing the gap between their faces, "No."
"And now, Donatello." Saki hissed.
"LEO!" Don's scream filled the room as the scalpel lowered to his plastron, the surgeon smiled with glee and pressed down. Don's head slammed against the tabletop as the blood began to pour; he frantically pulled at the ties that held him down. It was futile and Leo screamed, he begged Saki to stop, pleaded with him to leave his brother alone but his words diminished when Don's screams ceased and his head lolled to one side.
Leo suddenly felt empty, alone and very, very afraid. His screams filled the room before slowly dying and becoming a fading whimper; the fight had left him completely.
"Kill me." He whispered, "Please… just kill me now… no more…"
"Shit." Raphael rubbed his brow as the full force of Leo's memory hit him, he watched as Leo stared almost mesmerised with the images that he depicted with such clarity.
"He wouldn't do it, he wouldn't kill me. He made me watch it over and over again, then he left me in the room with the lights switched off. It's amazing what the mind conjures up in the dark, the monsters that lurk in the shadows." Leo gently brushed his hand down the wall, his fingers gently caressing Mike's image. "When you found me, it was three days after that session, I think. It's what finally made me break. I lost my usefulness to him, then."
Raphael moved closer to Leo and lifted his chin, he looked into his eyes, "Leo, it's all over now. None of that ever happened, Splinter doesn't think that you're a disgrace, Mike and Donny were never hurt and I… I would never join him. Never."
"I know that. I really do but at the time, it was so real. I couldn't see the difference and it broke my heart to see my family massacred in front of me, it hurt to see you like that. I was broken and he enjoyed watching me break, watching me die slowly as he destroyed me from within."
"He'll pay for what he's done to you, I promise you that." Raph hissed sharply.
Leo watched his brother closely, his eyes were alight with anger and hatred, but there was something else: Tenderness, concern and love. Leo knew that Raph was angry with Saki for causing his pain, but Leo couldn't help the feeling of guilt within him at the trouble that he had brought to his family. He knew his brother was sincere in his statement, that Saki would suffer but at what cost? Could Leo allow his brothers to put themselves in danger all in the name of revenge? All for him? Would he allow that to happen? Leo's memories began to flood through him again, the katana in his father's chest, the tank, the scalpel, blood, pain and fear. His eyes widened at the memories and he panicked, they could so easily come true.
"No."
Raph frowned at Leo's almost silent response, "What d'ya mean 'no'?"
"Leave him alone. Let him do what he wants, so long as he stays away from us then we can stay away from him. Don't give him the opportunity to hurt you as well. Please, Raph. Just…" his head bowed, "I want my pain to end."
Raph shuddered, the fear peaked once again and he tightened his grip on Leo's arms, he hoped that his brother wouldn't try anything stupid. He's done it often enough and they had almost lost him on many occasions, it was a risk that Raph wasn't ready to take.
"Don't talk like that. Leo, please you're getting better, you're healing and that's the important thing." Raph soothed, then he straightened, "But I can't leave this alone. He has to pay for what he's done."
"NO!" Leo wrenched his arms free and jumped up, "Not for me! I won't let you!" he ran from the room and Raph quickly followed after him, he glanced around the kitchen and noticed the open door, then the open drawer by the cooker. He stepped closer, his pace was slow as the fear began to rise and he panicked at the carving knife that was missing.
AN: Okay, I think there's going to be one more chapter then an epilogue but don't hold me to that, I could be wrong. I hope this chapter was disturbing because it certainly disturbed me when I wrote it, if it is then I have achieved what I set out to do. Thanks to everyone who noticed my errors, with no beta reader, I have to go it alone and I admit that I posted it before checking it thoroughly. Sorry about that, I'm just a little too eager sometimes.
Reviews:
Digmon Girl: Heh, thanks:)
Spootycup: I don't know about lots more but there will be another chapter, I'm glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for the review:)
Pacphys: Heh, yeah I think I need to brush up on my word use. Thanks for pointing it out, I hadn't really noticed it at all! LOL! With this fic, I've had no end of trouble writing Mike's character, normally it's Don who causes me problems. Thanks for the review:)
Reinbeauchaser: Whew! Big review! Thank you:) I actually had trouble with the first part of that chapter, it was long winded but I got all caught up in the flow, whoops! LOL! Word use again, (slaps forehead) darn it! Hehe. I don't have any personal experience with this sort of thing but I admit that there has been a lot of research involved with this story, although I have exaggerated it a little in Leo's case. I thought that it would be a little more intense considering what actually caused his psychosis in the first place. I'm really throwing myself into this story, which is probably the reason why it is coming to an end. It's quite draining to write and the content is having an effect on me too, my other stories are really being neglected because of this one. LOL. Juddering? Hmm, I didn't realise I even used it, LOL, well in short it means jerking, shaking or vibrating. That flashback came very easily, it's a scene that has been in my head from the very beginning and one that I've waited a while to add. I hope it didn't upset you too much, or this one in this chapter! Yep, it is at the farmhouse, I thought it was the best place to put Leo to help him recover and it gave me more room to play with. Glad you're enjoying it and thanks for the review:)
Darktiger2: Don't worry, I'm still working on WTRLPSU, but I had to get this one out of the way. I'm working on the chapter slowly and I'll get it to you as soon as possible. Thanks for the review:)
Ramica: I've read The Enemy several times, it was a great story and I could feel the emotion in it so well. When I read it, it takes my breath away. It's one of my favourites. Everyone seems to feel sorry for Mike whilst he watched Leo talking to himself, it felt to me that it was the right thing to do and I'm glad that it came off the right way. I didn't want to make Mike look weak and child-like but no one has said that I have so I'm glad about that, he's certainly not a child and I have seen him portrayed that way even though he is a teenager or older. Thank you for the review:)
Rev: Emotion seems to be the key word with this story, I'm glad I'm writing it well enough to show what I see. Thanks for the review:)
Pi90katana: I hope you got my review for Rest in Peace, wonderful story! I loved it! Hmm… The voice? Sadly, I don't think it will be making an appearance in this story anymore, that's if my plan for it stays the same. I'd say that it's a very dark and patronising voice. If I could put a finger on it, I'd say a cross between Leo's and Saki's. You wanted to see more of Raph so I did as you asked, to be honest I had it planned so he was in this chapter so you must be a mind reader! LOL! Thanks for the review:)
In The Clouds: Hey! Long time no see! I hope you're not too rushed off of your feet, but I'm grateful you dropped by. Leo and Mike have been difficult to write together in this story, I think it's because Mike is always so cheerful and bubbly that all this angst is making it harder for me, glad you liked it though. Thanks for the review:)