Author Note:
I should probably clarify that this is the 2k12 version of Leo. I like writing him, just because he wears his emotions a little more out on his metaphorical sleeve then his 2k3 counterpart. Aka, he's a dork, and I love him. Plus, I might be borrowing a couple of things from the 2k3 universe and tweaking them to fit in the 2k12 world.
Something was tickling his face.
Everything hurt. His face hurt. His eyes hurt. His shell hurt. His throat and lungs hurt. Every muscle screamed in exhaustion, and Leo wanted nothing more then to stay in this blissful unawareness.
But that annoying tickling moving lightly across his face kept bringing him back to the brink of consciousness.
"Mikey..." Leo groaned, too tired to move.
There was a pause, and then the sensation of the tickling continued moving across his cheek.
Grunting in annoyance, Leo raised his bone weary hand to half-heartedly swat his orange brother away, hoping to sink back into the depths of sleep.
Instead, his hand unexpectedly came in contact with something small, hard, and skittering across his face, and he realized suddenly that it wasn't Mikey. Panicked, he swatted the small crab off and bolted upright, awareness jolting him awake.
This wasn't home!
Memories flooded back, of the battle in the cargo plane, of falling, of the violent and angry ocean. He wasn't safe at home with his brothers! He didn't know where he was!
There was the sound of the ocean rushing gently onto shore nearby, the song of unfamiliar birds echoing all around him, the rustling of wind through leaves and...
And...
And Leo's eyes were open, but the world was still dark.
He blinked, confused, but it made no difference.
What...?
He hesitantly reached up and felt his face gingerly. His face felt sore and tender to the touch, and his eyes still burned painfully, though by now it had faded to a dull ache. His mask was gone, he vaguely remembered taking it off in the plane, so it couldn't be covering his eyes. His vision wasn't being blocked.
So... why couldn't he...?
He lowered his hand, and tried looking around, searching for any pinprick of light. Was... was it maybe night out? Was that why it was so dark?
But, no, even in the darkest night, it shouldn't be so completely pitch black out. Leo couldn't even make out his hand right in front of his face. And the birds were singing, and he felt warm, like he was outside in the sunshine, so he was pretty sure he wasn't in a cave or dark building.
But... why couldn't he...?
His chest tightened as realization began to dawn on him.
The memory of painful chemicals spraying him in his face... In his eyes...
Oh no...
...No...
Leo's knees pulled up close to his chest, and his breath hitched in fear.
NO!
His hands quickly went up to his face and rubbed at his eyes, ignoring the pain, desperately trying to rub off anything that could possibly be there, blocking his sight.
Still nothing but darkness.
Oh gods no! It couldn't be!
With a panicked whimper, Leo tumbled forward and, on his hands and knees, scrambled down the beach, his hands desperately patting the sand in front of him as he stumbled through the darkness. Once he hit water, the waves much calmer and gentler then the raging tempest last night, he quickly scooped up water and splashed himself on the face.
This had to be a dream!
This was only a bad dream!
But no matter how much he tried to scrub his face, no matter how many times he wiped his face clean, the darkness remained unchanged every time he opened his eyes.
Leo panted for air, on the verge of hyperventilating.
He was blind.
He was BLIND!
He had no idea where he was, or where his brothers were, and he couldn't SEE anything!
His brothers! Were they...?
"Donnie?" Leo hesitantly called out, then winced at how hoarse his voice was, and how much it hurt to talk. "Raph? Mikey?"
Nothing but the sound of waves and birds.
Oh... oh gods... He was going to be sick.
He turned around, frantically feeling around the sand as he tried to figure out something, anything about his surroundings, his voice growing more desperate. "Guys?! Where are you?!"
For the first time in his life, Leo was on the edge of a full blown panic attack. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he was aware that if he yelled too loudly, then if there were any humans nearby, he might attract their attention, but oh gods! He couldn't see and he didn't know where he was!
What was he going to do?! What if there were humans nearby?!
He bumped into another tree trunk, and unsteadily used it to pull himself up to his feet. "Donnie! Raph! Mikey! Please! I'm over here!" His voice was louder now, pleading.
Oh gods, what if there was a human settlement nearby?! Leo could be standing in the middle of a resort, for all he knew, and he wouldn't even be aware of it! He was completely vulnerable and out in the open, and he couldn't see anything around him to see if there was even a good place to hide from them!
Leo stumbled forward, his arms outstretched, and quickly felt another tree. He pushed past it and just kept moving forward, not sure what else to do and desperately needing to find something, anything, in this endless darkness!
He kept calling out his brothers' names, growing louder and louder as his desperation grew, hoping beyond hope that they were somewhere out there looking for him, currently too panicked to care that it might draw unwanted attention.
The blackness was all consuming, surrounding him, blanketing him. His whole world was nothing but empty darkness, and the unexpected sensations of whatever his hands bumped against and his feet stumbled over. He couldn't see anything before him or behind him, and while he strained to hear an answering voice to his calls, the only sounds he could hear were only those of birds and the wind in the trees and the ocean fading behind him.
"DONNIE! RAPH! MIKEY!" Leo begged into the darkness, sweat dripping down his salt and sand crusted skin as he blindly flailed about, trying desperately to find them. He tripped and fell, pushed himself up, lunged forward and promptly ran into a branch that smacked him across the snout. Gasping in pain, he stumbled backwards a few steps, only to suddenly feel a large rock embedded in the ground hit him against his calves. Losing his balance, he fell over backwards, and quickly found himself tumbling down a small ravine, painfully bouncing and scraping against rocks before rolling to a stop in the dirt and leaves.
Shaking and trembling, Leo didn't even try to get back up. He just curled into a tight ball, wrapping his arms over his head and too terrified to move any further.
He had no idea where he was, he was completely alone and without his brothers, and he couldn't see anything!
A sob wracked his chest.
Maybe it was better that his brothers weren't here. The great fearless leader Leonardo... reduced to a blind, helpless wreck huddled in the dirt and trembling in fear...
He just wanted to SEE!
Please! Something! Anything! He didn't want to be lost in this darkness for the rest of his life!
He wanted to see the stars!
He wanted to see the city lights blinking like a thousand brilliant fireflies!
He wanted to see Donnie's goofy little proud grin of delight when he finished a new project!
He wanted to see the fire in Raph's eyes as they smirked competitively at each other in the dojo.
He wanted to see the delighted sparkle in Mikey's face as he laughed and played.
Purple, Red, and Orange. Leo would never see those colors again! Just... just only black... and darkness...and nothing. There was only nothing now.
Leo grabbed his head in both hands, and a heartbroken scream of frustration ripped its way out of his chest and echoed through the darkness.
The chatter of birds stopped instantly, startled by the unexpected noise. For a few heartbeats, there was only the sound of a lonely breeze rustling leaves above.
Let any humans hear! Leo didn't care anymore! Let them come and lock him away somewhere! Let them end his miserable life! As long as something, anything happened! As long as he wasn't lost out here alone in the void of nothingness! He couldn't handle this!
And then the world once again moved on despite his pain, and the birds and insects resumed filling the air with their songs and chitters.
Leo's now-worthless eyes burned from the salt as hot tears began spilling out, and he curled up even tighter, just waiting for somebody, anybody to come find him and put him out of his misery.
But... nobody came, and he was left alone in the darkness.
The enormity of his situation slowly began to fully weigh down on him and seep inward.
This was it. His life was over. He would never be able to wield his swords again. He would never be able to protect his family! Even if he did somehow survive this, he would be nothing but a burden on his brothers now, an invalid that they would forever have to care for.
What good was he to anybody without his sight?!
Leo curled up tighter, covering his head, lost in the darkness that surrounded him, and his body gave a shudder of grief. He couldn't even save himself now.
Oh, my brothers, wherever you are, please be okay! I can't protect you anymore! I'm so sorry!
Leo wasn't sure how long he lay there, huddled curled up in the dirt. Hours, at least. He just couldn't bring himself to get up and try to navigate through the world of darkness once more. He was utterly spent, in both body and spirit. It was just so much easier to lay here and listen to the sounds around him with his eyes closed. It was just so much easier to surrender to the darkness that he couldn't fight against.
A sound beyond that of the birds chirping up ahead and the breeze swaying through the leaves finally broke through his mental haze.
Water trickling.
He shifted ever so slightly, listening carefully. Not the ocean, which was now off in the distance, but.. a stream maybe?
He suddenly became aware of just how thirsty he was.
He licked his dry, salt crusted lips and lay there for a moment, just listening to the sound of the water, trying to figure out what direction it was coming from with sound alone.
Then, slowly, painfully, he lifted an arm and put one hand on the rocky ground beneath him. He exhaled slowly, pressing his forehead against the dirt. Then, gathering up all his strength, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to move, pushing himself up slowly to a standing position. His legs wobbled a little, and he felt sick and exhausted, but he took a deep breath and forced his muscles to steady themselves.
Then, slowly, carefully, he turned and pushed his way forward, groping through the darkness once more.
He felt the trees more carefully now. Some of them were straight and rough. Palm trees? But... as he wandered further in, some of the trees smoothed out. Older trees, with leaves, though he couldn't even begin to tell which species surrounded him.
Wait. There. The sound of water was coming from over there.
Carefully, Leo removed his hand from the tree trunk and slid his foot over the ground, trying to move carefully enough that he wouldn't stub his toes hard against anything. Hm. The ground here felt cooler and more spongy then the other parts of the forest he had been in. So far it seemed flat, with lots of grass and leaves underfoot.
Then his toes squished in wet mud and touched cool water.
Exhaling in relief, Leo carefully knelt down, feeling the ground underneath him cautiously. Water. Oh, thank goodness!
He let one of his hands dip into the cold liquid. It at least smelled clean and fresh, no hints of salt or chemicals. It was probably a fresh water spring.
A quick taste confirmed that it at least tasted drinkable. Leo quickly wasted no time plunging his face in the water and drinking his fill. He hadn't realized just how much he needed this, and the refreshing cold water soothed his sore throat. Finally, with one final gulp, he pulled back, gasping for air. He still felt exhausted and almost strangely numb, but... the water helped a little.
It reminded him that he was still alive. That... that had to count for something. Right?
Exhaling, he felt around until he found a flat rock he could sit on. He sat back and started scooping water up to splash on his skin, trying to rinse off all the sand and salt he could feel encrusting his scales. He spent quite a bit of time pouring the spring water over his face and around his eyes. He wasn't really surprised when it had no effect on the darkness, as he had barely allowed himself to hope in the first place, but at least it felt good against the hot, burning skin.
...
His jaw tightened.
He... he couldn't let himself lose control of his emotions again. He had to keep a cool and level head about this. He couldn't panic anymore. Panicking hadn't helped the situation at all. If... if he was going to get through this, he... he needed to remain calm.
Somehow.
He slowly reached up, and ran his fingers gingerly over his face.
Well... at least he didn't seem to be too badly injured, other then the obvious fact that he was apparently blind. His face felt a little warm and painful, but there didn't seem to be any burns or blisters on his scales.
Maybe... maybe the blindness was temporary.
What if he just needed some time to heal? Then he'd be able to see again.
Then he could still who he always had been again. He would be able to protect and lead his family.
...
But... what if it wasn't?
What if... What if he never got his sight back? What if...
He swallowed hard, drawing up his knees and hugging them tightly.
What if this darkness all around him was permanent?
A rustle in the leaves close by caught his attention, and he realized suddenly that he could hear a low but soft faint rumble, like the tiniest motorcycle engine.
What was...?
Leo paused for a moment, and concentrated on the noises. Though the rumble was constant, the rustling stopped, and there was a long pause. Then, a sudden crunch, as if a small creature had just pounced on a leaf.
Was there some animal close by?
Leo swallowed hard, and slowly uncurled, shifting to face the direction of the noise. "Is... is somebody there?" he hesitantly asked.
He half expected there to be the startled rustle of a fleeing woodland creature. It was probably just a squirrel or something.
But, no. The rustling stopped, but the rolling rumbling noise merely intensified at the sound of his voice. He had apparently peaked the interest of whatever it was, for the sounds began to draw closer. Whatever this creature was, it had abandoned its leaf chasing, and was now heading right for him!
Before Leo could make up his mind on how he should react, a soft, furry head rubbed against his knee.
Leo paused, then cautiously reached out through the darkness, and carefully touched the fuzzy little warm thing. His touch only made the rumble grow louder.
A... a cat? It was a small cat?
A rather friendly one, from the way it was weaving around his hand and trying to encourage him to pet it.
Leo tilted his head, listening as intently as he could as he sniffed the air. But, as far as he could tell, there was only the cat.
"Er... where did you come from, little one?" he asked nervously.
This cat was obviously tame. Tamed meant humans nearby.
The cat apparently felt surprisingly comfortable around mutant turtles, as it merely jumped up into his lap and mewed loudly, bumping against his plastron in an obvious demand for more attention.
Leo exhaled, then carefully scooped the cat up in his hands.
Well, he was now holding a warm, fluffy, bundle of fur vibrating with some rather intense and loud happy purrs. Now what?
Leo lowered his head slightly to carefully sniff at it, wondering if he could maybe detect some scent of humans on it.
Hm.
Well, there was definitely a perfumed smell of some sort of incense lingering in its fur. Also, a scent of citrus, and... maybe fish? Which made sense, they were close to the ocean. Was there a fishing village nearby?
The cat apparently couldn't understand why its new friend was so clueless as to the way things were supposed to work, and wiggled forward so it could hit Leo's chin with the full force of the top of its head. 'Pets, turtle creature!' It demanded with a loud, complaining meow. 'You're supposed to be giving me all the pets!'
Leo sighed, and shifted the cat to one hand so he could begin scratching it behind the ear. His reward was intense vibrations from the happiest of purrs.
So... humans were obviously extremely dangerous. He was a mutant, and would most likely find an unfriendly welcome at best, and a one way trip to a scientist's lab at worst. They could have guns, or other weapons, and he was injured and.. and blind. Everything about going near humans right now screamed of a bad idea.
But... humans also had phones.
If... if he could find one... then he could try and call his brothers.
He shifted the cat in his arms, gently stroking its face and feeling the whiskers and ears. The cat reveled in the attention, and gave a pleased little 'murr' to let Leo know he was doing well.
He found himself taking some strange comfort in this connection with another living being, even if it was just a cat.
He was still surrounded by darkness, but now... now he could feel with touch that he wasn't completely alone.
He continued to pet the purring cat quietly for some time, somehow loathed to give up even this small connection to the world outside.
"You can still see the world around us." he finally said to the cat in his arms softly, almost pleadingly. "What should I do now, little one?"
Author Notes:
This story isn't going to remain this angsty for long, I promise. (EDIT from future EchoKazul: I lied. There's SOOOO much angst! Sorry!) This is probably going to be a longer fic (EDIT: heck yes it turned out to be!), and several chapters of Emo!Leo alone in a forest would get pretty old pretty quickly, even if I added a cat. (EDIT: It actually wasn't too bad.)