Chapter 9: Akumu

After escaping from Jorgumo's cave, the group soon found themselves outside the mountains. It had stopped raining and it was very late, so Usagi reluctantly allowed the group to take refuge in a small cave.

There, they set up a small fire and had dinner with whatever food rations they had, which weren't very much.

"You know, I don't think Pug-taro would be so bad if he wasn't such an entitled little jerk." Donnie voiced his opinion.

"Yes," Gennosuke yawned. "Little punk just needs some discipline."

"I can hear you, you fools!" Kintaro retorted tiredly, getting eye-rolls from the others.

"Whatever, Kintaro-sama, roll over and get some sleep." The rhino lay down, getting into a comfortable position.

"I'm right there with you, bra." Mikey agreed with a yawn before collapsing onto his back. "My shell is tired."

Donnie yawned as well before laying down, instantly falling asleep.

Meanwhile, Leo, Usagi, and Raph stood outside the cave, watching as it looked like another storm was going to come in, thunder crackled lowly in the distance.

"Hey, Usagi," Raph said, getting the ronin's attention, "I just wanted to say… sorry for not listening to you earlier. I was being… arrogant and stupid… look, I'm not very good at apologies but you get what I'm trying to say, right?"

Usagi nodded. "I accept your apology, Raphael-san. I understand you are not used to this realm."

Raph nodded before turning to Leo. "And bro, sorry for not trusting your judgment as well."

Leo nodded with a smile. "It's alright, Raph. It happens to the best of us." His eyes then went back to the sky. "I'll take the first watch. You guys get some sleep."

Usagi nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Thank you, Leonardo-san." He then went back into the cave and sat down, quickly falling asleep.

Raph, meanwhile, stayed awake. "Leo?" His older brother turned to him. "Do you really think these mystic guys at Pug-taro's temple can really get us home?"

Leo shrugged. "I hope so. I know I'm not exactly one to believe in magic but after everything we've seen, I guess I have to take Usagi's word for it. So yeah, I do believe they can get us home."

Raph pulled his knees into his chest. "I'm just worried if we're ever gonna get home. I'm worried I might never see Chompy, Casey, or even Mona Lisa ever again."

Wrapping his arm around his hot headed brother's shoulder, Leo lightly pulled him into a bit of a half-hug. "It'll work, Raph. I know it will."

Raph couldn't help but let his barriers down a little. "I'm scared."

Leo sighed. "I know." He then smiled a little. "Hey, try remembering that chant Splinter taught you when dealing with those bugs Stockman created."

Raph chuckled a little. "Kore wa nanimo imi shinai…" He chanted the mantra. "Kore wa nanimo imi shinai…"

Leo chuckled as well, patting the red turtle's shoulder. "Go get some sleep, Raph."

Nodding, Raph got up and walked back into the cave before collapsing to the ground, chanting the mantra quietly until he fell asleep.

The blue clad turtle chuckled. Who would he be without his brothers? And who would they be without him?


The hours went by as the camp fire eventually went out, the only light remaining being that of the full moon. By then, everyone was totally asleep, some of them even snoring a little.

And Leo was starting to feel tired too as his eyes began to droop.

However, as soon as he briefly closed his eyes, he felt something. A strange new presence, one dripping with malice and evil.

"What?" He whispered, his eyes wide open now as he peered into the distance. And what he saw chilled him to the core.

Standing there in the distance was the silhouette of what appeared to be an anthropomorphic wolf wearing a black kimono and carrying a long black spear.

Jei.

"Usagi, wake up!" Leo called, turning to the others. "Get up, Kintaro, now! Guys, wake up!"

"What is it?" Raph questioned as he, Donnie, and Mikey woke up, joining their brother outside the cave.

"It's Jei! He's-"

Leo and his brothers drew their weapons, only to be surprised and dumbfounded when the wolf was nowhere to be seen.

He then heard a sinister chuckle from above him, forcing Leo to look up to see Jei coming down towards them, his spear raised to attack.

The Turtles all quickly jumped out of the way as Jei stabbed his spear into the ground. He then ripped it out, twirling it so fast that it was a blur before taking a stance.

"I got him!" Mikey shouted, trying to sound brave as he rushed forward, swinging his nunchucks wildly, but Jei either blocked or avoided all of his strikes. The party turtle then attempted to land a kick, but the wolf evaded the strike before slamming in the blunt end of his spear into Mikey's head, stunning him and forcing him to stagger back.

Shaking his head from his dizziness, Mikey got ready to attack again when he felt a searing pain in his stomach. He looked down with shaky eyes to see Jei's spear had impaled his plastron, blood beginning to drip from his wound.

"Mikey!" Raph screamed as he, Leo, and Donnie could only watch in horror as Jei pulled his spear harshly out of the young turtle, causing him to fall lifelessly off the cliff into the small ravine below.

Enraged and with tears in his eyes, Raph charged forward with yell, sais drawn. Jei placed two fingers on his lips and in a sudden move, blew purple fire from his mouth. The red turtle quickly jumped to avoid the flames, flipping mid air and diving down towards the wolf. Jei simply sidestepped the attack as Raph landed, swinging his sais furiously at the mad wolf, who easily blocked all of his strikes.

Raph then clashed his sais against Jei's staff, pouring all of his strength into his push in an attempt to overpower the wolf. He grit teeth furiously, his breath coming out in enraged, ragged hisses through his teeth as all he could focus on was the white hot rage that flowed through him.

But Jei used this to his advantage as he grinned, letting the hot headed turtle win this little strength contest and allowing him to overexert himself, catching him off guard and giving Jei the opportunity to slash him across the throat with his spear.

Raph choked up a bit, his hands reached for the cut on his throat before he collapsed, falling into the ravine as well.

"No…" Leo whispered as now he and Donnie were the only ones left.

And Jei wasn't giving them time to react as in a flash, he was suddenly between them, whacking Donnie away with his spear before smacking Leo before he had a chance to turn around and defend himself, knocking the blue clad turtle into the ravine.

Donnie yelped a bit before regaining his balance, tears rolling down his cheeks as he glared hatefully at the wolf who had just taken his brothers from him.

With a yell, Donnie whipped out the hidden naginata blade in his staff, twirling it as he charged at the mad wolf. He swung his staff furiously at the wolf, Jei blocking every strike in the heated staff battle before the mad wolf simply outstretched his hand, causing the smart turtle to freeze mid swing.

He then lifted Donnie into the air telepathically, the toothy grin never leaving his lips. "You cannot fathom the power of Jei." The mad wolf said arrogantly before clenching his fist, causing the purple clad turtle's body to stiffen.

Donnie could only let out a pitiful groan in pain as he felt like his body was being crushed from the inside. Very soon, the pain was too much for him and his body went limp.

Jei grinned as he released his hold on the smart turtle, letting him fall into the ravine below like a rag-doll, his body lifelessly bouncing off some of the sharper rocks below.

Leo's head pounded as he sat up. His vision was blurry as he reached out to lean on something as he sat up. The thing he touched was something smooth, not like rock, but skin… and it felt cold.

The blue clad turtle's vision finally cleared and his eyes widened when he saw that next to him was the dead body of Michelangelo, his face looked so peaceful it was like he was asleep, except for the blood that oozed out of the wound where Jei had stabbed him.

"No…"

He looked over to see the close-by body of Raphael, his face in the ground and his body unmoving, his sais pierced into the ground.

"NO…"

And to the right of him, he saw Donatello's corpse, his arms and legs all bending in sickeningly wrong ways, his bo-staff snapped in half.

This wasn't real.

This couldn't be real.

Leo desperately wanted to believe that this was some horrible dream he was having and that he would wake up any second now to find that his brothers were safe and alive and not horribly mutilated like they were now.

But it did not go away.

Thick tears rolled down his cheeks, dripping down on Michelangelo's face.

"NO!"

Leo's heartbroken scream echoed throughout the mountain, thunder cracking in the skies above before it began to rain, as if the clouds themselves were sobbing over their deaths.

Leonardo held his baby brother close to his chest, crying into his shoulder as his barriers finally broke down, his shoulders shaking with his sobs of anguish.

This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to be the leader, the big brother who looked after and cared for those he led.

And he had failed.

And now his brothers were dead.

"I can sense the evil inside of you, Leonardo." Their murderer spoke.

Leo raised his head, still clutching Mikey's body, his eyes pure white with uncontrolled grief and rage.

"And I will purge it." Jei stated.

The blue clad turtle gently set Mikey's body on the ground, touching his cold cheek one last time with his palm before standing to his full height. He then whipped out his remaining katana from his belt before turning to face the mad wolf.

Jei simply chuckled, raising his spear into an attack position.

With both hands on his katana, Leo charged towards the mad wolf, their blades clashing in sparks of steel.

Lightning crackled as Jei attempted to stab the blue clad turtle, but Leo evaded the stab before taking a swing at the mad wolf's head.

At this point, Leo didn't care about anything anymore. He didn't care about getting home, or protecting Kintaro, or even getting to see his friends again.

All he saw was red.

Leo swung his katana furiously at Jei, driving him back. He then flipped over the wolf and attempted to bring down his sword on Jei's head, but Jei simply moved out of the way.

Panting, Leo found himself already feeling exhausted, the adrenaline burst now wearing off, while Jei looked undeterred. He hadn't faced someone this skilled, somebody with this inhuman endurance since the Shredder.

And that terrified him.

He blocked a couple of strikes from Jei before their blades clashed again.

"You're weakening, turtle." Jei mocked him as Leo gritted his teeth. "And I am growing stronger." He then pushed Leo back, winning the blade lock.

Now Leo found himself being forced on the defensive as Jei began to ramp up his relentless fury.

Leo barely blocked the flurry of continuous stabs from Jei with his sword, his legs wobbled and his arms trembled, he felt like he was on the verge of passing out.

Jei then pulled a nasty trick, spinning his spear so fast to the ground that it sprayed dirt in Leo's face, forcing him to cover his eyes with his arm. The dirt kept hitting him with more and more force until Leo was suddenly swept back, making him fall on his shell as the katana fell from his grip.

The mad wolf laughed maniacally as Leo futilely attempted to scoot himself away, his anger gone and now fully replaced with fear.

"You are just a child." Jei mocked, his grin seeming impossibly wider than before. "What threat do you pose Jei? None." In a flash of lightning, Jei had raised his spear over his head, ready to deliver the killing blow.

Knowing that this was probably it, Leo covered his face defensively with his arm, preparing himself for the end.

At least now he would be reunited with his brothers and their father.

Only it never came.

"Leo! Wake up!" He heard… Raph's voice as he felt a hand grip his arm.

Opening his eyes, Leo was shocked and relieved to see that it was indeed Raphael, who was not dead but still alive. Everyone was crowded around him with concerned expressions (except Kintaro of course). All of them were alive and well, even Donnie, Raph, and Mikey too.

"Raph?" Leo questioned, tears filling his eyes as he blinked them, hoping that this was indeed real now. "Mikey? Donnie? It was all a dream?"

"No kidding, turtle dummy." Kintaro chastised harshly.

"It appears you were controlled by Jei's magic." Usagi explained.

"We all seemed to have the same dream." Donnie added. "And when he… killed us, we woke up."

"But why?" Mikey questioned. "Why's he messing with us like that? Not cool, yo."


From his bowl, Jei watched as the group began to regain themselves.

"Yes, my warriors." He grinned. "You are nothing but puppets. The pawns of the gods." He chuckled sinisterly.

The time was so close now.

"Soon, my warriors. Soon."


"Be weary, my friends," Usagi stated as they continued on their path, "we approach the Mother of Mountains. We are not out of danger yet."

Leo stayed still for a moment before following the others, still feeling shaken by what had just happened.

Mikey quickly noticed this. "Hey, bro, you okay?" When Leo didn't respond, he continued. "This is about that whole nightmare thing, isn't it."

Leo looked down to the ground, his eyes filled with unshed tears as his lower lip began to quiver.

That was when Mikey stopped and pulled the blue clad turtle into a hug. "You know it wasn't real, right bro. We're still here."

Leo buried his face into his baby brother's shoulder. "I know." He said, his voice still shaking. "But it all felt so real."

He then felt another pair of arms wrap around him in the form of Donnie and then another in the form of Raph.

Nothing needed to be said as Leo let out his feelings to them and they were there for him.

"You know, we really should get moving." Kintaro said irritably, he, Usagi, and Gennosuke having stopped when they realized their companions were falling behind.

"Let them have their moment." Usagi told them.

Gen spat at the ground a little. "Nasty trickster Jei is." He scowled. "If he shows his face, he's going to have a mouthful of steel in his… well, mouth."

Eventually, the Turtles broke up before continuing on with their companions.

But even still, Leo couldn't shake the feeling that Jei was still watching them.