What is Seen...

What the little one was showing Leo, was like watching a movie in reverse. He saw their confrontation, followed by a rapid backtracking of Sol's movements through the tunnels.

Quickly the vision past the point where Leo had picked up it's trail and backtracked even further through the sewers, rewinding so fast that parts of the journey were a blur.

Leo felt stunned. This had not been at all what he had expected. He felt dizzy watching this vision and found his mind wandering. Had Sol stumbled on their home by chance? Or had it been drawn to them in some other way? Leo was distracted from his musing as the little one at last arrived at the scene it wanted to share.

Help! Sol suddenly demanded again. The little one's "voice" didn't sound any different now than it did when it was floating in front of Leo. That's when Leo realized what he had been hearing all along was in his head. This flickering creature of light and fire, this Sol, was telepathic.

As much as he wanted to stop and marvel at this revelation, there was no time. The image that was now playing forward in his head demanded an immediate response. Sol certainly did need help. Or at least it's companion did.

Leo shook his head, as his own vision slowly returned, and discovered he was now lying on the floor of the tunnel. He dragged himself to his feet and paused, groaning, as the tunnel spun around him.

It wasn't that Sol had intentionally injured him, it was more that the vision had been accompanied by a kind of emotional punch he had been unprepared for. As if the feelings of the subject had been captured along with the image. And the extreme pain and pure terror were horrifying. It had not only brought him to his knees, but to a complete collapse.

Sol had projected several jerky moments of first person footage. It was like watching one of Mike's video games on mute, he couldn't hear any of it.

Leo's training had quickly kicked in and he began analyzing everything he could see. It was definitely topside, set in a rather familiar looking dank alley. He couldn't tell much about the victim, except that they were taking a severe beating, but Leo felt each blow as if it were against his own body.

He was instantly enraged. This kind of thing was the very reason he felt the need to constantly patrol, both topside and in the tunnels. So many violent offenders roamed the streets these days, and many were helpless to fend them off.

Even ending Shredder's dark rule of the criminal underworld years ago, had not stemmed the tide of evil flowing in the city.

Suddenly there was a dark pause in the vision. The pain faded slightly, and Leo gasped for breath. Had they blacked out? For how long? He couldn't tell as Sol chose that moment to fast forward. The vision slowed again at the next sign of movement.

It was the same perspective as before, but now it was darker. Whoever it was had crept into the tunnels. Somehow they had escaped and were fleeing as best they could. Choked with fear, ragged with pain and constantly checking behind for pursuit, they took the next turn and ran headlong off the edge of a Long Fall.

Leo's heart almost stopped, his terror combining with the victims as they fell together into the black.

Cannot Be Unseen...

A Long Fall is a tunnel that runs vertically through the underground. They drop straight down several stories from the surface, and are used mostly for ventilation. Leo had always thought of them as the city's version of an oubliette. Things that fall down them were best forgotten, dropping out of sight into the depths, never to be seen again.

There was no way to tell where this one was. There were hundreds of Long Falls in the city, and though he could probably trace the general direction from Sol's rewind, it might take him days or even weeks to find the right one.

They could not have survived that fall. He had thankfully been spared the physical agony of the impact, but the emotional pain lingered on. Leo wanted to weep. He could have fought the assailants, but how could he break it to this amazing little one that no help could possibly save it's companion now?

The perspective of the vision suddenly changed. This new view was more like a camera slowly panning around, and Leo was able to make out a small face and an outstretched arm, despite the darkness.

His heart ached as he watched. Even though he looked very carefully he didn't see any movement from the tiny form. The final frames of the vision chilled his soul, and he wondered if he would even be able to recover the body. Should he try? Would it help the little one find closure?

Leo suddenly knew he would. He would search, every waking moment if need be. He would mobilize every asset, and call in every favor owed, because with the change in perspective had come another change.

Sound.

Leo heard soft singing. It came from the small form on the ground, in a language he did not understand. It was a song that cried out to him of pain and despair. The song pushed at the blackness surrounding it and begged for redemption.

Against all odds, she was alive. She had sent her Sol to find him, but she was slipping away. Dying all alone, out there in the darkness.