Chapter 5: Four Once Again
A/N: Well, this is the last chapter of "A Warrior's Pain." I hope you have all enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. It was hard to do this chapter, but I pulled through in the end. I hope you all enjoy it. On a serious note, I would like to extend my condolences to the WWE for losing Eddie Guerrero on November 13, 2005. As you all know, I'm a wrestling fan and Eddie's death hit me hard. That's another reason why it took me so long to update. I'm fine now, though. He died of heart failure at the age of 38. May he rest in peace. Now, I would like to thank all of my reviewers who have stayed loyal to this fiction. Thanks to: LadyKatana45, pacphys, Diamond of the Moon, Mrs. Turtle, Dragonfly Rider, The Sacred Heart 2, shellsboy24, Mikaela's Spade, Cynlee, Leo Oneal, Dark Sukii, Redwaters, innocent-rebel, Digimon Girl, Rat Queen Valarian, Tewii, Mac, Sunshin, Katana Babe, and Jessiy Landroz. You guys totally rock! Keep them coming.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Turtles. If I did, I would be writing the next episode right now. They should make mine into an episode though. That would be cool. Some of this dialogue is from the episode "The Monster Hunter" which I also do not own. All flames will be cut up by Leo's swords. You have been warned!
Raphael's eyes opened when he heard April yelling at Casey for walking on her clean floor. Boy, Casey sure is tryin' his luck, Raph thought. He decided to go downstairs to see what the others were doing.
"Where is everybody?" Raph asked. He found Donnie fixing the toaster for the third time. Note to self: Never let Mikey near the toaster, Raph thought with a smile.
"Casey just got ejected from the ball park," Don answered. "April's in the kitchen. Mikey's taking a walk in the woods."
"When he knows perfectly well that he should stay in the house," Splinter chastised from where he was meditating on the floor.
"And Leo?" Raph asked a little hesitantly.
A sad look crossed Don's face. "He's been moping in the barn all morning," he said.
"Again?" Raph asked incredulously. Leo had been doing that for two days now. What was going on?
"Your brother is suffering from wounds both physical and spiritual, Raphael," Splinter explained. "He will need the support of all of us if his wounds are to heal."
Raph knew that his sensei was right. Leo needed to snap out of it if they were going to beat Shredder. He also knew that he had to find out what was wrong with his brother in blue.
The red clad Turtle went back upstairs to think about this. It was then that he noticed the book on ninjitsu that April had given Leo. It was opened to a picture of a man holding twin katanas. On the bottom of the page was written, "This used to be me" in small letters. Raph knew Leo had written this, and he realized that Leo missed his swords. He decided that something had to be done to get Leo to snap out of it.
Meanwhile, Leo was in the barn, thinking about his swords. He found a stick lying on the ground and picked it up, trying to swing it like one of his swords, but it broke. He dropped it and sat on a wooden crate with a dejected sigh. Why did this have to happen to him?
Donatello watched Raph walk out the door and sighed. He knew his brother was either going to pester Mikey or talk to Leo. He hoped it was the latter and not the former. Leo needed help, and Don felt that Raph could give it to him, if Leo was willing to accept it.
Raph walked to the barn, hoping that his plan would work. If Leo wouldn't go along with it, then Raph was going to try another way. He found his brother in the barn, trying to extricate a pipe from a pile of odds and ends. "Lookin' good, Leo," he commented.
Leo wasn't happy to see his brother in red. Instead, he seemed angry. "Go away, Raph!" he snapped. "I'm not in any mood!"
Raph smirked. "For what?" he inquired.
"I don't want to hear about how I messed up in New York," replied Leo. "I got my shell kicked, I let everybody down, I lost my swords. I—I—"
"Hold on, Leo, I wasn't going to say anything like that!" said Raph hurriedly. "I was going to ask what you're doing out here."
"Nothing," said Leo bitterly.
A smile spread across Raph's face. "Well, that's too bad," he said, "because I know what you should be doing. And I think you do too."
Leo didn't know what his brother meant, until Raph showed him the picture in the ninjitsu book. Then, he understood that Raph wanted to help him get back to the way he was before this happened.
And so, they set to work. As they did, Raph told Leo more about what had happened while he was on the training run and after he'd come back. He also told Leo how worried he'd been and how happy he was when Leo woke up. Then he revealed his desire to find Shredder and beat him to a pulp.
"Let's just take it one step at a time, Raph," Leo advised. "We still need to have a plan."
"Leo, I don't care about plans," Raph said. "I just want to kick his butt. Don't you want that, too?"
"Yeah, I want to end this," Leo replied. "I can't let him get away with this."
"Now, that's the Leo I know," Raph said happily. "C'mon, let's keep goin'."
They worked until their eyes began to droop. Then, they stopped and went back to the house. They asked where Don, Mikey, and Casey were, and April explained about their plan to fool Abigail Finn. Raph and Leo smiled at each other, remembering the days when they'd all get into scrapes.
"Knowin' Mikey, this plan's gonna go wrong," Raph predicted. Leo agreed, but he reassured his brother that Don would take care of Mikey. Plus, Casey was there, too. For the first time that night, Leo didn't have a nightmare. Raph felt that this was a sign that Leo was really healing.
The next morning, after a quick breakfast, the two Turtles went back out to the barn to finish forging the swords. Leo had taken the bandages off and seemed to feel better. His left arm was still sore, but he knew that in time it would go away. Right now, he was happy to be with Raph making the weapons that meant the most to him. He made up his mind that after they defeated Shredder, he would do something to pay Raph back for what he did for him.
"So, Leo, why don't you try these babies out," Raph suggested.
Leo took one sword and performed some katas that Splinter had taught him. Then, he took the second sword and did the same. They both worked well, and both Turtles were pleased with the results.
"Good job, Leo," Raphael commented. "You've still got those moves down."
"Thanks, Raph," Leo replied. "You helped, too."
"Ah, don't mention it," said Raph, waving his hand dismissively. "It was the least I could do. I'm gonna go get the others."
"We should just go out there together," protested Leo.
"No, I'd rather do it like this," said Raph. "It's more effective." He found Mikey, Don, April, and Splinter on the doorstep laughing at Casey, who was dressed in a ridiculous disguise. The Turtle in red rolled his eyes, not daring to comment. He would ask Casey about it later.
"Guys, come on out back," he said. "There's someone I want you to meet."
The others followed him to the barn. Raph opened the doors to reveal Leo. "I'd like to introduce you to Leonardo, new and improved," Raph declared.
Leo came out and unsheathed his katanas. "Hey, everyone," he greeted them.
"Glad to see you back, Leo!" said Mikey cheerfully.
Leonardo joined his brothers with a determined look on his face. "I say we go back to New York and finish our business with the Shredder," he declared.
Splinter smiled as his sons raised their weapons and cheered in triumph. He was certain that his sons would do well together. They were four once again.
After the Turtles parted, Mikey said, "I'm hungry. Can we have breakfast now?"
"Mikey, you are such a dork," Raph teased.
During breakfast, everyone talked at once. Casey told some stories about his days at the farmhouse when his grandma was still alive. "My cousin Sid and I would pretend we were wrestlers," he said. "We used to have pretend matches outside. Boy, did we have fun."
"Did your grandma disapprove of it?" April asked.
"Disapprove? Grandma?" Casey repeated. "No way! She loved wrestling too."
"So, when are we goin' back to New York?" Raph asked.
"Tonight," replied Leo. "It would be best if we went at night."
"But, Leo, wrestling's on tonight!" whined Mikey. "You know we always watch SmackDown on Thursdays!"
"Mikey, you're probably taping it at home," pointed out Leo. "I think that facing Shredder is more important than wrestling."
"We could always leave after the show," suggested Casey. "We'd still be able to get to New York when it's dark."
"I believe that is a wise decision, Mr. Jones," said Splinter, "Besides, I, too, would like to see SmackDown. It always brings a smile to my face."
Leo sighed. "Okay, Sensei, we'll leave after wrestling," he agreed. "However, I think that after breakfast we should do some training."
"Aw, Leo, do we have to?" complained Mikey.
"Yes," answered Leo. "We have to be prepared for what Shredder might throw at us. I'm not going to let him beat us down again!"
"Leo's right!" Raph agreed. "We need to get ready to kick the Shredder's sorry butt!"
"Are my ears deceiving me, or did Leo and Raph just agree on something?" Don teased.
"You heard it right, bro," Mikey said. "I'd better mark this on the calendar because you don't see that often."
After breakfast, the Turtles and Splinter went to the barn for some training. Casey and April came out to see them spar. Mikey and Don paired up, and Leo and Raph were a team. It was a pretty good session, and Splinter was pleased.
"Very good, my sons," the old rat said. "You did well. Leonardo, I am especially proud of you. You have shown amazing improvement and have not forgotten your training."
"Thank you, Sensei," Leonardo said, bowing his head. He expected Raphael to make some remark about Leo being a teacher's pet, but he didn't. Instead, he looked just as proud as Splinter was.
"Now, my sons, I suggest that we end the session with some meditation," said Splinter. "We need to be prepared for the battle ahead. We must clear our minds of all distractions."
Splinter saw that his sons had mixed reactions to this suggestion. Leonardo sat down in the lotus position, Donatello sighed, but did the same, Raphael rolled his eyes, and Michelangelo groaned. The old rat remembered having a hard time making the Turtles meditate when they were younger. They never stayed still long enough to do any meditating.
Despite the complaints of two of his sons, the Turtles were able to meditate and clear their minds. Leonardo, especially, had improved immensely. Splinter had feared that his oldest son would have a hard time clearing his mind, but he didn't. Splinter declared that they were done for the day and that they could go inside.
"You guys go ahead," suggested Leo. "I'll catch up. I want to stay here for a few minutes."
The Turtles, April, Casey, and Splinter left Leo alone, all except for Raph. He wanted to be there for his brother if Leo needed him.
"Raph, you don't have to stay," said Leo. "I just want to be alone."
"Well, I want to stay," declared Raph. "I can tell somethin's bugging you. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Raph, nothing's bothering me," explained Leo. "I've just been thinking about things."
"What do you mean?" inquired Raph.
"I've been thinking about everything that's happened over the last few days," answered Leo.
"Leo, I know you're scared," said Raph. "I can just tell. After all you've been through, I don't blame you. Just remember that me, Mikey, and Don have your back. You won't be alone out there."
"I know that, Raph," said Leo. "Thanks for the encouragement. I think I need it. Now, we'd better get back inside before Mikey eats our lunch."
"Yeah, I can see him doing that like he used to when we were younger," Raphael laughed.
Lunch was a very fun affair. Mikey kept doing imitations of people that the Turtles and the others had to guess. It got pretty annoying after awhile. After lunch, Leo took a nap while Raph and Casey talked about their motorcycles. Mikey watched TV, and April and Donnie discussed computers. Splinter did crossword puzzles and read the newspaper.
For dinner, Casey got pizza for them to eat. They gathered around the television to watch WWE wrestling. April smiled as she watched her friends yell at the TV. Even Master Splinter was getting into it, something that the Turtles rarely saw out of their sensei.
"That is not fair!" Splinter shouted as Carlito beat John Cena. "Carlito cheated! He has no honor!"
"Sensei, it's fake," Don pointed out. "All the matches are scripted."
"Don, be quiet!" Raph grumbled. "You always spoil the fun!"
"Hey, Rey Mysterio's fighting next!" Mikey exclaimed. "I love that guy!"
"Looks like he's fighting Eddie Guerrero," Leo commented. "I'm sure Eddie's gonna cheat to win."
"Hey, that's his motto," Casey protested. "I love his car though. I'd love to get me one of those."
After the match was over (Rey managed to win), they got ready to head to New York. April gave the Turtles and Splinter some blankets so that they would be warm. As they drove away, Raph thought about when they came up here and how badly hurt Leo had been. These thoughts were shattered by Mikey singing "Ninety Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall" at the top of his lungs. Raph put a quick end to that song.
Leonardo was also thinking of all that had happened and was a little apprehensive about the coming battle. But then his brother's words returned to him. He remembered that he wasn't alone this time. He had failed before, but he would not fail again. With his brothers by his side, he would triumph over the man who had broken his spirit.
They would defeat Shredder once and for all.
They were no longer just three.
They were four once again.
A/N: Well, that's it. How did you like it? Those of you who leave signed reviews will be getting a reply from me fairly quickly. I also must tell you that during Christmas Break, which is fast approaching, I will not be leaving reviews to stories. This is because my dumb computer won't let me review. It stinks, but that's the way it is. I only have one Turtles question for you guys. Do you think that Leo will open up to Usagi in this week's episode? I say he will or that Usagi will notice Leo's strange behavior. Please review! They make my heart leap for joy. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, even though it's early! I have finals in two weeks. Wish me luck!