Chapter 29
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
–Martin Luther King, Jr.
Once they'd reached the end of the passageway, the swinging pendulums had finally ceased to appear at random, allowing the two groups a brief moment of rest before they continued onwards at a steady pace. However, as they walked, the two opposing teams of mutants couldn't stop glaring at one another distrustfully, and Leonardo found himself awkwardly caught in the middle somewhat as he marched beside Fishface. His loyalty was with the Foot Clan, but only due to the unbreakable ties that he had with his father Tiger Claw, his surrogate older sister Karai, and even his odd friendship with Fishface. Also, with the new knowledge that Shredder was undoubtedly watching his every move no matter where he went, there was no way he could possibly leave the clan now, even if he'd wanted to.
But then again, he'd also grown a bond of sorts with his three younger brothers, his own flesh and blood…well, two of them anyhow. Of course, he couldn't bring himself to truly admit that just yet, but he couldn't deny that the feelings were there…
However, there was still so much that sought to be amended between the four of them. All the mistakes and erroneous assumptions he'd made, all the things he'd said and done to make them suffer, whether or not they truly deserved it...especially to Michelangelo, his baby brother.
Speaking of which…
Leo quickly glanced over his shoulder at his brothers trailing behind him, and just caught sight of Mikey pulling a silly face behind Fishface's back, blowing quiet raspberries at the mutant as he jabbed his thumb onto his nose and waggled his two fingers in front of his face. Unable to help himself, Leo was forced to slap a hand over his mouth to stifle a chuckle at Mikey's antics. And oddly enough, that was the first time he'd laughed all day. Leave it to Mikey to bring a laugh out of anybody in any situation.
His eyes widening in disbelief as Mikey noticed Leo's reaction, he beamed excitedly from ear to ear as warmth blossomed within his heart. He bartered a glance with Raph. "Dude! Did you see that? He smiled at me!" he whispered as he bounced on his toes. Raph only smiled at his youngest brother as he nodded, patting him once on the shoulder. Donnie on the other hand ignored the whole exchange, focused only on the task at hand; escaping this maze with their lives. Though, he did find Leo's response to Mikey's foolery to be somewhat interesting; at least now he knew that he didn't have a completely dry sense of humor.
Hearing the hushed smirks behind him, Fishface quirked a brow as he snapped his head around to look at Leonardo, only to find his face a mask of indifference as he looked straight ahead. The fish then looked over his shoulder to glare at the other three ninjas, who glared right back at him in response. "I have my eye on you, turtles," Fishface warned lowly as he pointed at them, snarling through his fangs as he then elbowed Leo's arm hard. "That goes for you too, wise guy," he muttered crossly. Leo only shook his head and shrugged, feigning innocence.
The group then entered a large circular room, which was suspiciously vacant of any death traps. Dogpound lifted his head and sniffed the air twice. "Fresh air," he said.
"Coming from that direction," Leo announced, pointing to the far left of the room. When Dogpound cast him a curious look, Leo merely shrugged, tapping a finger against his nose once. "You're not the only one with a nose for this stuff," he grinned, earning a growl from the dog in reply.
However, at this new development, the group made no other move towards the exit of the room as they all shared a blank look. There were no visible traps as of yet, but they couldn't be too careful. There was no telling what Baxter had in store for them next, and none of them wanted to find out what would happen if they took even another step forwards. For all they knew, there could be bombs hidden beneath the very floor…
"Eh, please," Fishface offered kindly, wearing a wide, deceivingly pleasant fanged grin on his face as he stepped out of the way to allow Donatello to go through first. "After you."
But Donnie was not so easily fooled by this false act of kindness of course, and shook his head as he returned the phony smile with one of his own. "No, no. You go ahead. I insist," he replied graciously.
"Aw, what's the matter?" Fishface asked, his tone as patronizing as ever. "You don't trust me?"
Crossing his arms over his chest, Leo raised a brow at his companion. "I think they trust you about as far as they can throw you, to be honest," he deadpanned. Narrowing his eyes at him, Fishface restrained the urge to smack Leo upside the head, lest he ended up with his hand snapped clean off his wrist for his troubles.
"I agree with Leo on that one," Raph nodded with a scowl, much to Leo's surprise as he rounded on him with a raised brow, but Raph took no notice as he glared at Fishface. "If you think we're gonna turn our back to you, you're nuts."
"I know!" Mikey piped up eagerly as he held his hands out in front of him, gaining everyone's attention as they all looked at him expectantly. "We go like this: turtle, turtle, jerk, turtle, turtle, jerk – wait, no. Jerk, turtle, jerk, jerk – nah, too many jerks…"
Mikey's struggle for 'order' was suddenly interrupted as a small hole opened up from the rooftop, emitting several strange silver orbs that floated above their heads as they all looked up. They appeared to be quite harmless, but knowing the mad scientist controlling them from wherever he was hiding within the maze, that was certainly not the case. "Balls!" Leo cried. "Of doom…"
"What are those?!" Dogpound exclaimed as the balls suddenly grew laser edged spikes and saws, buzzing like a nest of angry hornets as they zoomed after the mutants gawking at them from below. Leo gulped. "Not good! Let's move it!" he called, just as the flying orbs attacked.
"Me first!" Fishface cried out as he shoved past the other turtles and made a break for it.
Ducking low as the spiked balls flew overhead, one of them bounced off of the hilt of Leo's katana, barely missing its mark as sparks flew. "Doom Balls! Run!" he shouted as he and the rest of the panicked mutants fled, darting from left to right as the balls gave chase, almost as if they'd gained minds of their own. Donnie attempted to bat one away from him like a baseball, but it only ended up getting stuck into the wood by the spiked edges instead, much to Donnie's puzzlement, but he had no more time to examine his 'prize' as the rest of the orbs flew after them all once more, sending them all running across the room whilst they also attempted to grapple each other to the ground in the process.
As they finally neared the way out of the circular room, Raphael paused only to draw out several shuriken, tossing them towards the silver orbs with a loud grunt. The shuriken hit their marks, exploding the projectiles on contact and putting an end to the threat at last as they all stumbled through the exit, practically landing on top of one another in a pile of tangled limbs as their weapons clattered to the floor along with them.
"Agh! Hey, get off!" Raph grunted from beneath Mikey and Fishface as they all squirmed.
"Ah-CHOO! Dogpound, get your tail out of my face!" Leo shouted.
"Get your Katanas outta my gut first, you little runt!"
"Who are you calling a runt, you son of a –"
"Whoever has their hand there has three seconds to remove it or my staff goes right up your –"
"Quit poking me!"
"Oi! Watch the face!"
"JUST GET OFF!"
After roughly shoving each other off with muffled grunts and vivid curses in several different languages, the group allowed themselves a heavy sigh of relief. "That was too close," Leo panted as he struggled to his hands and knees, wiping the sweat off his brow as he looked back the way they'd come. He dearly hoped that would be the last of the traps, at least for a little while. Then again, maybe not if Baxter had his way. So far, they'd gotten off lucky, but who knew how long their good luck would last.
The sound of Donnie yelping in shock made Leo look up sharply, and he watched as Donnie carefully plucked off the ball that had locked itself onto his staff before tossing it to the floor. The object rolled across the floor and softly tapped against Fishface's metal foot, taking him by surprise as he looked down at the metallic orb.
Slowly, a wicked grin grew across his scaly features as he reached down for the ball…
But Leo's larger hand lashed out and quickly caught him by the wrist, holding it firmly. Hissing through his fangs, Fishface snapped his gaze towards the blue clad turtle, his mouth open and prepared to protest, but he was quickly silenced by the dark look in the terrapin's eyes as he slowly shook his head in warning. "Unless you want to be obsessing over losing your hand as well, you'd better not touch that thing," he muttered lowly. "They still don't trust us as it is, and yet they're risking their own necks to save ours. Don't give them any more reason to leave us here to find our own way out or die trying. Understand?"
Fishface narrowed his eyes at Leo, before reluctantly nodding his head as he tugged his wrist out of Leo's somewhat crushing grip. He'd known the kid long enough to know a real threat when he heard one. "Whatever," he grumbled with a roll of his eyes as he trudged on ahead, and the six of them set off again, none of them looking forward to whatever the crazed genius had set up for them next.
Unbeknownst to Leonardo, Donatello had been watching the whole exchange between him and the mutant fish after he'd tossed that ball away, and he raised a curious brow. Perhaps Leonardo really had meant what he'd said…perhaps, if he'd even gone so far as to stop one of his allies from killing them, he really could be trusted…
Well, they still had a long way to go yet before they reached the end of the maze, if there even was an end to it. Only then would Donnie decide if he could fully confide in their distant brother.
Minutes passed by like hours as the fatigued group of mutants trekked further into the maze, out of breath and in dire need of a moments rest as they temporarily drew to a halt. Mikey and Donnie leaned against the black and white tiled wall as they slid down to the ground, panting heavily, whilst Raph bent forwards and planted his hands on his knees as he let out a heavy sigh. Loosening his scarf around his neck to cool himself off a little bit, Leo wanted nothing more than to join them, to curl up into a ball and let sleep finally claim him after two long sleepless nights…but his attention was quickly averted from the temptation to sleep as Dogpound lifted his head and sniffed the air, his brows furrowing in confusion.
"Wait…we've been here before!" he exclaimed in outrage.
Blinking hard as he straightened up, fully awake once more, Leo spun around to gawk at his larger canine companion. He couldn't be serious, could he? Surely he was mistaken; this entire maze looked exactly the same, so how could he possibly tell –?
"He's right!" Donnie said, turning to face the wall that he and Mikey were leaning against, and tracing his hand over a single scratched marking on one of the tiles. He narrowed his eyes in irritation. He'd made that exact same mark hours ago with his tanto knife just before they'd entered that room with the flying 'Balls of Doom', so that he would know where they'd already been. And though he really didn't want to admit it, the over-sized flea-bag was indeed right. "We've been going in circles!" he exclaimed, turning around to face the rest of the group, who all sighed heavily in despair, knowing that they were no closing to finding Baxter or escaping this godforsaken maze.
"Donnie," Raph began sceptically as he folded his arms. "Are you sure–"
A steel wall suddenly crashed down from above with a shuddering bang, separating Raphael and Fishface from the rest of them.
"Xever!" Leo gasped. What on earth just happened? Was that another one of Baxter's traps?!
"Time to split you boys up!" Stockman announced tauntingly over the intercom, confirming Leo's assumptions and earning a low, angered growl through his bared teeth.
Eyes widening, Donnie leapt up to his feet. "Raph!" he cried out in panic, darting over to the metallic wall and banging his fists against it in a hopeless attempt to get through to his older brother. On the other side, Raph was doing the same as he called out to them, but his voice was muffled, and even his punches did nothing against the strength of the divider. Joining Donnie as he approached the door, Leo unsheathed his swords and began to slash at the barrier over and over, but not even his blades could penetrate it. They left not even a scratch behind, much to Leo's confusion and growing irritation as he panted with exhaustion.
"You're wasting your time, Leonardo! Those walls are magnetically sealed!" Baxter called as he chuckled maniacally. Reluctantly, Leo lowered his swords to his sides again as he glared up at the ceiling. He swore, as soon as they found Raphael and Fishface and escaped this damned maze, he would slice that man's head clean off his shoulders with little to no regret whatsoever.
Beside him, Donnie frowned deeply as he reached into his belt and pulled out a small device with a shell-patterned casing on its back. Intrigued, Leo sheathed his swords and peered over Donnie's shoulder, watching as his younger brother typed a series of codes into the device. "What the heck is that?" he asked.
"It's my T-Phone," he explained without looking up from the screen, and then held up the device like a compass. "I'm reconfiguring its internal magnets so that it can detect ambient AC currents. We can use it to trace our way back to Baxter."
Leo blinked once, before looking up at Donnie with a blank expression. "…what?" he muttered with a confused shake of his head and a raised brow. He'd never heard of a T-Phone before. Was it some kind of new device that he'd created by himself? If so, then that was…well, it was truly somewhat amazing, to say the least. Leo had always known that Donnie was very intelligent, especially when they were younger when he'd construct little houses merely out of small pebbles and sticks that could even withstand the storms that often struck their home in the forest, which was something that the rest of them hadn't been able to do at their age. Back then, that had been the most impressive thing that Donnie had done besides learning how to read before his older brothers, but to create something so complex, so defined as that tiny little device he held in his hand…
He'd truly underestimated Donnie's vast intellect, hadn't he?
A part of him was very proud of his brother for what he'd managed to accomplish in just twelve years…but the other part was still confused over what he'd just heard. It was just as confusing as listening to Baxter's techo-babble, the only difference being that Leo could actually tolerate listening to his brother compared to the haughty madman.
But nevertheless, if whatever he'd planned could get them out of this maze and find that whelp, then Leo mused that he could trust his brothers' judgement without hesitation. "Alright then, we'll do that. The sooner we find him the better," Leo said as he nodded to Donnie, who appeared taken aback as he glanced at Leo over his shoulder. Leo seemed not to notice Donnie's reaction as he then turned his attention to Dogpound and Mikey instead. "You two, keep Stinkman talking."
Grinning at his oldest brother, Mikey nodded eagerly. "No problamo!" he chimed, before he lifted his head to the ceiling and shouted, "Hey Boxten!"
"It's Baxter!" snarled the scientist over the speakers, earning a mischievous snicker from the freckled turtle. As he and Leonardo walked past, Donnie raised his hand and twirled a finger in the air, signing for Mikey to keep the act going as they continued through the maze. There was no way to open or destroy the wall that separated them from Raph and Fishface, so their only chance was to keep walking in hopes that they would meet up again later in the maze. If they weren't already dead by then, that is.
"So, I was wondering," Mikey mused as he walked beside Leonardo. "What made you interested in a career of Super-villainy?"
"…Well, since you won't be around to read my autobiography, I'll tell you," Baxter began leisurely. "I was a frail, deeply sensitive young child…"
Sharing a disinterested look with Leonardo, Dogpound then rolled his eyes and sighed, his ears flattening against his head. "Well there's a surprise," the dog muttered sarcastically under his breath as Baxter continued his 'dramatic' tale.
"That's when I decided to develop my greatest power; my technological genius!"
"Oh, good grief!" Mikey groaned, regretting having ever asked Baxter such a question in the first place. Well, now that they had a chance at getting out of the maze alive, he guessed that he could endure it for a little while longer…well, until his ears bled out.
Tuning out the rest of Baxter's story with a shake of his head, Leo then moved to walk beside Donnie, who's eyes were still glued to the screen of his T-Phone in concentration that was best not to be broken. Biting his lip, he hesitated for a moment before finally reaching out and lightly tapping Donnie twice on the shoulder. Once the purple clad turtle looked up from the phone and acknowledged him, Donnie was surprised to find that Leo was giving him a slight, but very real smile as they walked side by side.
"That was some good thinking back there, Donatello," he said, though his voice was hushed so that the dog walking a few meters behind them couldn't hear him. "I have to admit, I'm impressed. You're doing a better job as a leader with that brain of yours than I'd thought."
His mouth hanging slightly agape in stunned silence for a moment, Donnie blinked hard as he stared at Leo, his mind trying to process exactly what he'd just said to him. He'd expected some kind of rude remark, but instead he was…genuinely impressed with him? Even after everything they'd said and done to each other, all the fights and threats and insults, and all the distrust…he was complimenting him? Better yet, he even trusted his plan though it was nothing more than a hopeful assumption; he wasn't even sure that the internal magnets were leading them in the right direction, and he was pretty sure that Leo had barley understood what he'd been trying to say earlier…and yet, he followed him anyways.
He'd been misjudging Leonardo all this time, hadn't he?
After a moment of silence passed between the two, Donnie finally managed to snap himself out of his trance and return Leo's smile with an awkward, lopsided one of his own as he shrugged clumsily. "…u-umm…t-thank you, Leo," he stammered, using one hand to rub the back of his neck. "That, uh…that means quite a lot…coming from you that is…"
And Donnie had meant every word he said. He'd never thought in a million years that he'd ever hear such praise coming from the brother they had all missed and longed to see again for twelve long years. And yet here he was…even though it still didn't change the fact that they were still enemies. But still, it warmed Donnie's heart inside…
Leo bowed his head once to Donatello in a silent 'you're welcome', before he turned his attention back to the path ahead, his expression returning to the passive mask he often wore, almost as if everything he'd said had never even occurred in the first place. But Donnie thought nothing of it, and simply smiled to himself as he looked back down at the screen, following the direction of the current that would hopefully get them out of here in one piece.
"And I built a Science Fair volcano, but with actual molten lava! Burnt down the whole gymnasium," Baxter laughed wickedly over the microphone to his immensely disinterested audience. "I was expelled…and I vowed revenge on those who wronged me!"
"…you poor, poor man," Mikey droned, his expression flatter than a worn tyre as he trudged beside his brothers and Dogpound, who's expressions were no different to his own. The man had been chattering non-stop for the past hour about his oh-so-tragic childhood, as well as listing off the names of all the people he swore he would take his vengeance upon for humiliating him. The only two that Mikey cared to remember were Eastman and Laird or something like that, before he'd tuned the guy out again. If Baxter talked any more, Mikey was certain that he wouldn't be able to go on; he'd rather just let the traps of the maze put him out of his misery instead.
Beside him, he heard Leonardo groaning as he rubbed a tired hand over his face and yawned. Clearly, he was just as sick of listening to Baxter as the rest of them. Smiling, Mikey tapped him on the shoulder, earning his attention as the older turtle looked down at him expectantly. "Just makes you wanna pass out, doesn't he?" he quipped in a loud whisper.
Unable to help but agree with the younger turtle, Leo chuckled with a nod. "I'd give anything just to get that guy a muzzle or something," he whispered back. "You aren't this bad with the others, are you?"
Ecstatic, Mikey beamed and giggled as he shook his head. "Nah, dude. I'm like a field-trip compared to this guy," he joked and pointed up to the ceiling, earning another quiet chuckle from the blue clad turtle in response. He couldn't believe that his older brother was finally talking to him again like he had back in Central park all those nights ago, before everything had gone wrong. There were no threats, no deathly glares…just the two of them, talking and joking together. And better still, he'd overheard Leo and Donnie talking to each other earlier. They were smiling…they were bonding…
Mikey smiled to himself, not even listening to Baxter's continuous prattle anymore as he and Leo walked side by side. For now, even if it was only until they could find a way to escape this labyrinth, everything was just as it should be.
But of course, like all good things, the moment quickly came to an abrupt end as a single mechanical tile rose up from out of the floor, and attached to it was a large cannon aimed directly at them. The group froze with combined gasps as the barrel of the cannon lit up with a low whine, before firing a red beam of light outwards. The group were barely able to get out of the way in time as they cried out in terror, apart from Leo who was already moving with his eyes narrowed, bounding off the walls as he drew out his Katanas and brought them down upon the blaster, and then slicing the machine in half as it crumbled uselessly to the ground in a heap of smouldering metal. Straightening up from his crouch, Leo turned back to the others as they got back to their feet and hurried over to meet him. "Everyone alright?" he asked, slightly breathless from the earlier effort. He was still so tired, and was surprised that he hadn't already passed out.
"Sweet moves, Leo!" Mikey whooped as he bounced over to Leo. "You were awesome back there, bro!"
Surprised, Leo blinked several times as a hint of red tinted his cheeks at Mikey's compliment, which was something he wasn't entirely used to getting from others outside of his father, Karai or even April. Letting out a short chuckle as he sheathed his swords again, Leo reached up to rub the back of his head as he shrugged awkwardly. "...um…thanks?" he said.
"Oh yes, very awesome indeed," Baxter's voice rang out sardonically, startling the mutants as they looked back up at the ceiling. "But as impressive as it was, I'm afraid I'm going to have to put you in a timeout for now, Leonardo!"
His brows furrowing, Leo slowly raised a hand to grip the hilt of his katana apprehensively. "What's that supposed to mean?" he probed warily. Was Baxter planning on just killing him right there and then instead?
His answer came seconds later as without warning, one of the panels opened up from beneath him, and with a scream he fell into the dark, seemingly bottomless hole.
"LEO!" Mikey and Donnie cried as they rushed over to the hole, only for the panel to slide closed yet again before they could reach it. Falling to his hands and knees, Mikey angrily pounded his fist against the floor in a desperate attempt to break through it. "Leo! Leo, can you hear me?! Leo!" he called as he continued to bang against the tile, but to no avail, not even as his hand began to throb painfully from the effort. It was no use. He'd just lost another brother to this maze…
His teeth grinding against each other as a rare burst of anger coursed through him like fire, Mikey lifted his head up again to glare at the ceiling as he climbed back to his feet. "Give me back my brothers, you creep!" he shouted furiously, with Donatello mirroring his snarl even as he put a hand on his shoulder to hold Mikey back before he did something too rash. Though to be honest, Donnie wouldn't mind pounding someone's face in right about now.
Baxter cackled. "All in good time, dear contestants! But for now, why don't we get on with the game?"
It was then that more laser blasters, similar to the one Leonardo had managed to destroy, emerged from beneath the floorboards, all of them targeting the three remaining mutants as they gasped in shock. And to make matters worse, the floors began to rotate, tipping them all off balance as the lasers opened fire. With the ground constantly moving and with lasers coming at them from every angle, it took nearly every ounce of their skills to avoid being shot at as Mikey and Donnie fought to keep their balance whilst dodging the beams, bouncing from tile to tile as they took out as many cannons as possible with the blade of Mikey's kusarigama and Donnie's naginata. To their astonishment, Dogpound actually helped them reach the guns above as he smashed the guns below with his enlarged fists, giving them that extra boost by letting them climb atop his shoulders to leap up and take them out.
As soon as he'd deemed they'd taken out enough of the guns to clear a path wide enough for him to get through without being blasted in the head, Donnie sheathed his staff and turned to Mikey and Dogpound whilst still trying to stay upright as the floor moved beneath him. "You guys deal with the rest of these cannons!" he called over the noise of the blasters. "I'm gonna go on ahead to find Leo!"
Turning to face his brother, Mikey spared a moment of indecision as he bit his lip. They'd already lost Raphael, and now Leonardo was gone, too. If Donatello left, then he'd be left alone with Dogpound, with no guarantee that the dog wouldn't try to kill him with his older brothers gone. And there was no guarantee that any of them would make it back alive with the amount of traps Baxter had set up… But Donnie was the smart one. He was their leader. If there was a chance that he could find Leo, then Mikey had to trust him. He had to let him go, and trust – and pray – that he would know how to find them again. With that thought in mind, Mikey finally nodded to his leader. "O-Okay, Don," he said, jumping onto Dogpound's back as he readied himself to jump and whack at another blaster. "But you'd better not get lost! You've gotta come back, okay?!"
Seeing the worry within his baby brother's eyes as clear as the daylight, Donnie steeled his expression as he nodded. "Don't worry, Mikey. I'll be back before you can say 'Booyakasha'!" he replied before turning on his heel and darting down the spiraling hallway – of Doom – hoping that wherever Leo had ended up, he wasn't too far away…
He didn't know how long he'd been out for as consciousness gradually returned to him, but Leonardo decided he didn't really care as he groaned, his head throbbing painfully as he struggled to his hands and knees. "Ugh…my brain," he moaned as he reached up with a shaking hand to rub at his temples in an attempt to ease the pain. Slowly, he opened his eyes –
And he immediately regretted doing so as he was met with nothing but darkness all around him.
His eyes widening, Leo felt his blood turn to ice and his body start to tremble as he looked around him desperately in search for something, anything that could tell him where he was and how to get out, but found nothing but emptiness. "Oh no," he panted, his breaths coming out in rapid, ragged gasps as his hands shook violently and sweat began to trickle down his forehead. His chest felt tight, and it only became tighter as his breaths grew quicker, uncontrolled, and his heart pounded harder against his chest. "Oh no, oh no, this isn't happening, this isn't happening!" he cried over and over again, throwing his arms over his head and drawing his knees to his chest. This couldn't be happening to him. This had to be a nightmare, it had to be. It was just another one of Baxter's tricks…
But as the seconds passed, Leonardo soon realized that this was no dream. This was very real. He was trapped forever in the darkness. He was trapped, and he was alone.
And now that he was alone, the creatures from his deepest nightmares would come crawling to him. Soon, all the horrors he'd seen, all the people he'd killed throughout his life, they would all come to him…and no one would hear his screams…no one would care…
No one would come to save him this time…
"Leo?!"
Gasping sharply, Leo lifted his head from beneath his arms, his eyes going wide once more. That voice…it was muffled, but he recognized it instantly…it was…
"Donatello?!" Leo called out, his voice frantic and breathless as his head snapped his head from side to side in search of his brother, but found nothing but the consuming darkness. Leo's panic returned anew as tears began to cascade down his cheeks, fearful that he was only hearing things now, becoming delirious before the creatures came out to finish him off.
But then he heard his brothers' voice again, louder this time and seemingly closer. "Yeah, Leo, it's me! Hang on, I'll get you out of there in a second!" he called. And then Leo heard something banging, like wood against a steel wall, making him flinch as he let out a startled cry and curled up again. He covered his ears with his hands as the banging ensued, his breaths growing more and more ragged with fear.
After a moment, however, the banging finally stopped, and Leo heard Donnie sigh in exasperation. "Argh, this isn't working!" he growled. "Hang on, Leo. I'm gonna go back and get Mikey and Dogpound, they might be able to break the wall –"
"NO! No, don't go!" Leo cried out, his voice desperate and cracking at the edges as he pleaded with his younger brother, praying that he was still there and that he hadn't condemned him to remain in this abyss by himself. He felt so weak. He felt pathetic and helpless…but he was just so afraid. He was afraid that the darkness would swallow him whole, that no one, not Tiger Claw, not Karai or even his brothers would be able to save him once he'd been consumed.
He was afraid of being abandoned again.
Squeezing his eyes shut as the tears continued to roll down his cheeks, he shakily reached out to where he'd last heard Donnie's voice, and his quivering hand came to rest upon a flat surface – a black wall. Moving forwards, he then pressed his forehead against it. "…please, Donatello," he whispered brokenly, though he felt like an utter coward for displaying such weakness, even if the other turtle couldn't see him. "D-Don't leave me here. I…I can't be alone again…please…"
Silence endured for what seemed like an eternity. Nothing, not even the sound of retreating footsteps could be heard on the other side of the wall. Leo feared that Donatello had already left him as he let his hand slide down the wall, clenching into a loose fist as he bit his lip to restrain the worst of his tears. Even if Donnie was still there, he would undoubtedly mock him for his cowardice, and revel in the fact that he'd been right in assuming that Leo had gone soft. He wasn't the warrior he'd always claimed to be…
Until…
"…okay, Leo. Don't worry, I'll stay right here with you," Donnie said behind the wall, his voice as firm as Leo ever remembered hearing it before as he lifted his head up and gasped softly. "I promise, I'm gonna break down this stupid wall and get you out of there no matter what, alright?"
Sniffing as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, Leo could hardly believe what he'd just heard as Donnie continued to bang against the hard, metal wall that separated him from his brother. He wasn't scorning him? But why not? He had every right to want to ridicule him, after everything he'd done to him, Raph and Mikey, and even after he'd mocked Donnie's affection for April O'Neil…so why was he staying with him now? "…you're…you're not going to leave?" Leo stammered, his tears slowly ebbing away as he got to his feet again and stepped away from the shuddering wall as Donnie's strikes came down harder.
He could practically see that gap-toothed smile on Donnie's face as he spoke again, his voice softer and reassuring than before. "Don't you remember? You once said the same thing to me; I'm not gonna leave you. I'm gonna get you outta there, and then we can all escape this maze together."
And then with another sharp gasp, Leo suddenly remembered. There was once a time, so long ago, that Donnie had been in his exact position. Back when they were only children, Donnie had wandered off into the woods and ended up in a human's trap with no way out. He'd been terrified that night as he shivered and sobbed, for he'd had a terrible fear of the dark back then, something that he couldn't control no matter how hard he tried. But then Leo had heard his cries for help, and rushed to his aid without hesitation…
"…don't worry, Donnie. I'm gonna stay right here with you. I'll just call daddy and we'll wait for him right here together, okay?"
"…you promise you won't leave?"
"I promise, Donnie. I won't leave. Daddy's gonna come and save you, and then we can all go home."
That's right. Donnie was doing exactly what Leo had done for him back all those years ago. He was going to stay with him, ensure that he was safe, until he wasn't afraid of the darkness that entrapped him anymore. Of course, unlike Donnie's fear of the dark as a child, a fear that could easily be conquered as he grew older, Leo's fear would forever be imbedded within his mind, body and soul; nothing could ever make him forget the horrors of the night he'd been abandoned in the forest. But Donatello was helping him cope…just like Leo had helped him to cope…
In that moment, all of the fear that had hovered over his head and weighed him down vanished as Leo smiled, nodding to himself as he took in a deep breath, and let it out again in a calm, collected sigh. "Okay, Donatello. I believe you," he said. "And I think…I think I've got an idea. You've loosened the panel of the wall enough, right?"
Donnie's blows stopped. "…uh, yeah, I think so," he replied. "What are you thinking?"
Grinning, Leo unsheathed a single katana and marked an 'x' shape on the black wall, before taking several steps backwards. "I'm gonna ram through it."
"You're gonna what?! Are you crazy?!" Donnie barked on the other side of the barrier. "You're gonna shatter every bone in your –"
"Do you trust me?" Leo interjected firmly as he acquired a stance, ready to charge the wall, but waited for Donnie to reply.
He heard the younger turtle sigh heavily beyond the black wall. "…Yes. Yes, I do trust you, Leonardo. I have every reason to trust you," he said at last.
And with a warm smile gracing his once tear-stained features, Leo knew that his brother had meant every single word.
"Good. Then you might wanna take a couple steps back," he said, before running towards the 'x' he'd marked on the wall and ramming his shoulder into its center with all the force he could muster in his tired, aching body. To his liberation – and surprise, for he hadn't actually thought that it would've worked in the first place – the wall gave way with a grinding screech of metal against metal, and Leo tumbled forwards unsteadily out of the darkness and into the light once more…or rather, he tumbled straight into Donnie's chest as both turtles toppled to the floor with chorused yelps of alarm.
Blinking rapidly as his eyes burned, still trying to adjust to the bright gleam, Leo shook his head to clear the unpleasant wave of dizziness as he looked down, only to come face to face with a startled Donatello as he stared up at him with wide mahogany eyes. After a brief moment of silence, the two of them burst into snickers as they clambered back to their feet again, with Leo dusting his arms off and adjusting his scarf before he sent Donnie a bemused glance. "I thought I told you to step back," he said, his tone light-heartedly teasing for the first time.
Grinning back at Leo, Donnie folded his arms. "Well excuse me, but you didn't give me enough time to actually move," he shot back, clearly enjoying this new playful banter between them rather than the harsh words and brutal threats. In fact, after everything they'd experienced in the past few minutes, Donnie was able to finally see what Mikey, Raph, and possibly April had seen in him all along.
Donnie trusted Leo now. And in turn, Leo trusted Donnie.
Suddenly, Donnie's T-Phone buzzed in his belt pocket, startling him and Leo as he quickly took the device out and held it in front of him. It wasn't a phone call, but a signal from the AC current magnets. It was leading them back the way he'd come, towards Mikey and Dogpound and the Laser Guns of Doom. "Oh man, that's a strong ambient AC current!" he exclaimed with a growing smile of triumph as he turned back to Leo. "Come on! The current is leading us back towards Mikey and Dogpound. Hopefully, they'd have destroyed all the Lasers of Doom by now."
With a firm nod (though he'd only understood half of what he'd incoherently babbled about), Leo and Donnie then dashed back down the long tunnel to reunite with the others. And with any luck, they were on their way to getting out of the forsaken maze.
Together.
It took longer than they'd hoped it would, and they were panting heavily by the time they finally came to a stop, but they'd managed to follow the magnets on Donatello's T-Phone back to Michelangelo and Dogpound without getting lost, who were unmistakably exhausted as they leaned against the walls for balance and gasped for breath. Leo was both very surprised and impressed to find that they were surrounded by piles of shattered, sparking metal parts from the cannons; they hadn't taken them all out by themselves, had they? And by working together, no less.
Wiping the beads of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, Mikey looked up from the floor, and his baby blue eyes rapidly lit up with joy at the sight of his two older brothers, reunited at last. "Leo! Donnie! You're back!" he cried, jumping over to them in the blink of an eye and wrapping his arms around them both in a tight, loving, unbreakable hug.
Whilst Leo tried not to squirm uncomfortably in Mikey's unrelenting grip (whilst also wondering how on earth he'd gotten his energy back so quickly), Donnie merely chuckled as he patted Mikey on the head. "We missed you too, Mikey," he said as the youngest turtle finally let them go, and he looked around at the remnants of the Lasers of Doom with a nod of approval. "Well, it seems like you guys did a pretty good job here. You managed to get all of them."
And it was the moment the words left his lips that another gun emerged from the floorboards right next to Leo, who gasped in surprise before quickly taking out his katana and slicing the barrel of the gun clean off before it could open fire. As the broken machine sparked lifelessly and emitted black smoke, Leo sheathed his sword again and sighed heavily. "Almost all of them," he muttered.
At that, Dogpound's final nerve seemed to have burst as he shot up from where he sat on the ground and raised his armored fists in the air. "Stockman! I know you're in here somewhere!" he bellowed in rage. As the over-sized canine continued to curse at the ceiling (with Donnie covering Mikey's ears) Leo simply watched him with a disinterested roll of his eyes. He did realize that screaming at the top of his lungs wouldn't do them any good, right? And even if it did, and Baxter decided to release them after getting tired of listening to his relentless barking, they were still two members short of a full team.
Raphael and Fishface were still missing. And a part of Leo dreaded the thought of one of them – or both of them – already succumbing to the traps of the maze…
However, his thoughts were put to rest at long last as with a blast of metal, the two aforementioned mutant turtle and fish appeared, peering bemusedly at the rest of the group through the gaping hole in the wall that Fishface had created with his foot.
His shoulders drooping in relief, Leo smiled, along with Mikey and Donnie as they gathered around their red clad brother. They seemed unharmed and completely whole. Thank goodness. "You two enjoy your play-date?" Leo teased, eying Fishface in particular, who scoffed at him with a wave of his hand.
Raising an unamused brow at his blue clad brother, Raph folded his arms. "Ha. Very funny," he droned, but any further banter was put on hold as Donnie's phone beeped again, leading the purple banded turtle towards the canon that Leo had dispatched of moments earlier as he knelt down in front of it.
"A strong ambient AC current is coming from underneath this cannon," Donnie alleged. Looking up, he then stood and took a few steps back as Dogpound tugged the canon off the floor with ease, tossing it out of the way as the group of mutants gathered around the new hole and peered through.
Their only warning was the subtle crackle of breaking metal, before the ground completely gave way beneath them, and they were all falling once again with screams of terror. However, instead of landing in a new part of the maze, the group picked themselves up from off the ground with groans and hisses of pain to find that they were no longer in the maze at all, and had made it back to what they all recognized to be Baxter's old laboratory. They were finally free from the Maze of Doom at last!
However, any thoughts of celebratory dancing or cheering was quickly pushed aside as beams of red light shone down upon them, and the six mutants all looked up to find the mad scientist himself, standing on top of a levitating silver platform as he glowered down at them all, though whatever intimidating look he was going for was severely ruined by the ridiculous silver helmet upon his head.
Leo narrowed his eyes as he glared up at the man. So, that's where he'd been hiding all along, and no doubt how he'd been controlling all the traps in the maze. The coward hadn't even stepped foot into the maze…
"No! You were supposed to destroy each other, not work together!" Baxter cried, stomping his foot in agitation. "Ugh…no matter. You may have made it to the end of my maze, but now it's time for –"
"The Bonus Round?!" Mikey piped up with a smile that everyone agreed seemed far too eager concerning their current situation.
But despite the interruption, Baxter only grinned widely. "Yes," he began slowly with an ominous nod of his head. "The Bonus Round…Of DOOM!"
And then from out of the shadows, it's gargantuan footsteps making the ground tremble violently beneath it as it approached the wary group of mutants, emerged a colossal robotic creature which design was similar to the M.O.U.S.E.R robots that Leonardo had once seen before…but this creation had long metal arms with razor edged claws, and a small screen which displayed Baxter's smug face as he looked down upon them all. Indeed, true to Baxter's words, it was a monster.
"Kneel before the awesome power," Baxter declared, "of my Monster –"
"–Of Doom," they all groaned in unison, utterly tired of the 'Doom' machines and the entire night in general.
"You all think you're so clever!" Baxter sneered. "Let's see how clever you are when you're hit by my Missiles of Doo –"
He paused, looking to the side. Actually, that was getting kind of annoying.
"…when you're hit by my missiles!" he concluded.
And true to his word, the Monster of Doom fired out three flying projectiles in their direction. The group was barely able to move out of the way before the missiles hit the ground, rattling the entire lab with the force of the blast. But the robot wasn't yet through as it opened fire upon the mutants with bright red lasers instead, missing its targets by mere inches as the mutants scrambled about frantically like panicked ants. And as if that hadn't been enough, the robot then launched several small droids from its top, which were revealed to be none other than the pesky M.O.U.S.E.R robots themselves as they screeched, launching themselves at their prey with their sharp jaws snapping at them violently. There was no end to its barrage.
Quickly dispatching of two of the metal creatures that were unlucky to cross his path with a swipe of his blade, Leonardo then made a beeline for the Monster of Doom, the whites of his eyes narrowed in determination to finish this thing off once in for all. But Baxter saw him coming, and unleashed yet more laser beams upon him as he drew closer, all of which the turtle dodged with ease as he leapt up with a yell and pierced the screen with his katana. However, that did little to nothing to the robot, and only further angered Baxter as the metal claws reached up to grab Leo, but missed him as he drew his sword out of the screen and leapt backwards, distancing himself from the Monster of Doom and the furious scientist. With a low growl, Baxter then released a wave of pulsing red energy, the force so great that it knocked all the mutants onto the floor.
Landing on his back beside Leo and Mikey, Dogpound quickly sat up and gaped at the machine. "How do we stop this thing?!" he cried, looking to Leonardo for an answer for the first time. Leo stood up and locked gazes with both the over-sized mutt and the innocent baby blues of his youngest brother, and then turned towards the Monster of Doom. Baxter was hovering nearby, watching with undisguised glee as his 'contestants' grew more and more tired.
It was then that Leo realized…Baxter was getting cocky. And when you got cocky, you became reckless and forgetful…they could use that to their advantage.
Leo narrowed his eyes as the beginnings of a plan began to form. "Mikey, Dogpound," he called over his shoulder as they stood up, "draw it under Baxter."
Nodding firmly, Mikey and Dogpound bolted towards the levitating scientist, but he only floated higher with a mocking chuckle when they drew too near. "Ha! Nice try! But you'll have to be faster than that!" he jeered.
Below him, the turtle and the canine shared a smile, before turning back towards the robot, still plundering after its remaining targets. "Yoohoo! Monster of Doom! We're over here!" Mikey called tauntingly. Soon enough, the robot took the bait and stomped towards them with its clawed hands raised to attack, but they were already moving out of the way again.
Leo watched them from the far side of the room with an approving nod. His plan was working. There was only one thing left to do, and this battle would finally be over. Wasting no more time, Leo hurried over to where Raph and Fishface were handling the last of the M.O.U.S.E.R's...with surprising teamwork, he mused. But he pushed aside those thoughts for now. "Raph, Fishface! There!" he shouted, pointing over to where Baxter's craft hovered directly over the Monster of Doom.
Turning to each other, Raph and Fishface shared a nod and the barest of smiles, before Fishface rushed forwards and slid across the floor on his back, his metallic feet stuck upwards. Leaping into the air, Raph unsheathed his Sais and landed neatly on top of Fishface's feet in a low, ready crouch as he glared at his target: Baxter's craft.
"Ready?!" Fishface called.
His green eyes narrowed, Raph nodded and counted down. "Three…two…one!"
With that, the fish mutant thrust his legs upwards, launching Raphael into the air with his Sais bared, and a loud cry ripped from his throat as he tore straight through Baxter's hovercraft. The craft began to malfunction, tilting unsteadily from left to right as smoke emitted from the hole that the turtle created. "NO! Stop helping each other!" Baxter shouted, before his craft plummeted towards the Monster of Doom, resulting in a hefty explosion that shook the whole building and filled the room with a cloud of thick, black smoke.
Once the dust cleared, the six mutants gathered together to witness what had become of the robot and the scientist…only to find that not even a scrap of metal remained. And there was no sign of Baxter.
"Where's Dexter?" Mikey asked no one in particular as all eyes widened. Had he perished in the explosion as well?
"FOOLS!"
Of course not.
All heads lifted up to find that Baxter, still miraculously in one piece, was once again floating above their heads by propeller-like blades that sprouted from out of the helmet he wore (effectively making him look even more ridiculous than usual). "You haven't seen the last of Dexter – ugh – Baxter Stockman!" he shouted, and then flew out of the lab through an open window on the roof, disappearing into the night and leaving his enemies staring after him in a mixture of confusion and irritation.
They stood their awkwardly in silence for several minutes, all of them exchanging glances. They'd escaped the Maze, and defeated the Monster of Doom…so now what?
"…well then," Donnie began, breaking the silence. "Shall we get outta here?"
"YES," everyone sighed in unison.
Forcefully pulling open the garage door at the far end of Baxter's lab, the mutants all dragged themselves out of the building and into the blessedly cool outside world at long last. In the next instant, all six of them collapsed to their hands and knees as they heaved in and out in exhaustion.
"…the truce…is over," Fishface panted, glaring at three of the turtles as they all looked up at him.
"Let's finish…ugh…this…" Dogpound said, trying to act tough, but his ears drooped against the sides of his head.
Climbing to their feet, the turtles tiredly drew their weapons, and Leo reluctantly returned to the side of the larger mutants as he faced his brothers, his sword poised – lopsided – in his hands. God, he was even more tired now than he had been all day, and now they were going to fight some more?
Mikey was the first to move as he spun a single nunchaku in the air. "Booyaka –" he began lazily, but immediately fell to his knees with a jaw-cracking yawn. The mutants that were still barely standing all shared a look. At this rate, their fight would end up looking pretty embarrassing if all they did was drowsily slap each other in the face. And after everything they'd already been through, was there really any point?
"Ah, forget it. Next time," Dogpound relented with a sigh as he and Fishface turned and began to walk down the alleyway, heading back towards Shredder's lair. Sheathing his sword, Leo hesitated for a moment as he spared a final look at his younger brothers, who met his gaze with drained, yet understanding ones of their own, even Mikey as Raph hauled his exhausted baby brother to his feet again. They all knew that he had to go back to Shredder, though they only knew part of the reason why. But even so, the hurt in their eyes was still present behind the weariness.
Biting his bottom lip, looking behind him in case Dogpound and Fishface were watching, Leo then faced them fully, eying Donatello in particular. "…I never got the chance to thank you for what you did for me in the maze," he said, and then dipped his head in a low bow. When he straightened up again, he flashed his brother with a genuine smile. "Thank you…Donnie."
A soft gasp escaped Donnie as he stared at Leonardo. He felt tears sting his eyes, but fought them off as he squeezed his eyes shut, drew in a deep breath and let it out again through his nose. Opening his eyes now that he was sure he wasn't going to cry, he then calmly walked over to his older brother. If things had been the same now as it had been before the Maze of Doom fiasco, then Donnie would never have dared to do what he did next.
Without a word, Donnie then reached out and wrapped his arms around Leo's shoulders, pulling him to his chest and holding him there with all the strength he could muster.
His eyes flying wide open, Leo froze in Donnie's arms as he hugged him, his arms remaining at his sides. This was the third time he'd been pulled into an unexpected embrace, and though a part of him wanted to return it in kind, to hold his brother close after so long…the other part of him, the part that still believed all of the lies and uncertainties of his past, simply wouldn't allow him to. Instead, he simply closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Donnie's shoulder. It was the closest thing to hugging his brother that he could ever get…
"…I won't ask you to come with us, because we all know you won't," Donnie whispered, tightening his hold ever. "But…I will ask you this one thing. Don't forget about this night, okay? Don't forget about us. Trust us. And who knows…maybe one day, you'll finally change your mind."
Huffing out a breath of laughter as Donnie reluctantly drew away, Leo shrugged. "Maybe…but I will keep it in mind, Donnie," he said. With that, Leonardo bowed once more, before turning on his heel and running after Dogpound and Fishface, disappearing around the corner of the building and into the night. All the while, his brothers watched him go, before they too made their way down the opposite way of the alley to head back to the sewers for some very well-deserved sleep. Perhaps they could bargain with Master Splinter to let them sleep in just for tonight.
As they walked, Mikey reached out and tapped Donnie on the shoulder, and Donnie looked down to find his baby brother grinning up at him. "Would now be a bad time to say 'I told you so'?" he giggled. Beside him, Raph was rolling his eyes, but a wide smile was stretched across his face. And it was a smile that Donnie was quick to mirror as he reached out to wrap an arm around Mikey's shoulders, pulling him close to his side as they neared the mouth of the alley.
"You know what, Mikey?" Donnie said, casting a final glance over his other shoulder towards the spot where they'd last seen Leonardo, the smile never leaving his face even as tears began to prick behind his eyes. "I think now would be a perfect time."
"…well, in that case, I told you so!" Mikey crowed ecstatically. Donnie only shook his head and chuckled.
For once, he couldn't argue with his baby brother; he had been right all along.
A/N: I'm not crying...I've just got something stuck in my eye!
I hope you enjoyed that, because it took me forever to post! I'll be updating my other stories soon, so look out for those! Until then, see you next chapter! I STILL OWN NOTHING!