Open Your Eyes

Give me a sign… Leo begged mentally, sitting besides Luna's still form. He had hardly left her side in the week since he'd found her at the bottom of the Fall. Only when Don and Raph physically evicted him, struggling, from the infirmary did he even think about needs like food and rest.

It had taken Leo three days to fully recover from the burns and exhaustion he suffered. He, like all the turtles, had an accelerated healing factor. But he hadn't resumed any of his normal routines. Training and patrols didn't interest him as long as she was unconscious.

He spent most of his time next to her in meditation, trying to send her some of his strength, and silently begging forgiveness for not being able to keep this disaster from her. Sometimes he even forgot that she wouldn't know who he was when she did wake up.

"If I could turn back time, I'd undo all this pain. Keep you safe…" he murmured.

Make you mine. His mind added.

Leo glanced guiltily at his constant companion in this vigil. Not certain if Sol could hear his thoughts if there was no physical contact.

Sol had stayed nearby during the whole ordeal and could inevitably be found hovering over one or both of them. But it always went with Leo whenever he was kicked out of the infirmary. It would follow him chirping and making small motions of encouragement, until Leo ate and rested a bit before returning to Luna's side.

Donatello had shared Sol's startling revelations with Leo, and they had him more than a little worried. How was he going to protect Luna when so much power was in play? And worse, he had dragged his family, those he had already sworn to protect, into this mess with him.

Leo had tried to get Sol to give him more details on Luna's predicament, but the little one just got frustrated. It wanted to 'show' him things, but Don had forbidden it except as a last resort. Don was already concerned about Leo's sudden emotional attachment to Luna. He didn't want it to deepen any further until they had this situation sorted out.

Leonardo already knew it wouldn't matter if Sol touched him again or not. His mind, body, and soul were already bound to her.

Unable to obtain true peace, he dropped his meditative pose, and gazed sadly at her beautiful face. The bruising had faded around her eyes and some of the lesser cuts had healed. Her bones had even begun to knit. Don had said this was faster than normal human healing. Leo hoped that his energy was the reason.

He sighed and raised his hand toward her soft cheek, but the sight of his green, three fingered hand against her pale skin bothered him, and he dropped his palm. She was a goddess. Literally. He was a monster, not even a lowly human. Completely unworthy of her.

Wake up! His heart pleaded. Just let me see the life come back to your face. I need to hear your voice, your laugh, memorize your smile! I'm going to make it right somehow. I swear it.

Luna came back to herself slowly. She felt terrible. Weak. Sick. Everything ached.

Pain! Yes, there was definitely still pain, but it was different. It was the pain of healing, not of breaking.

The pressure that had squeezed the last bit of breath out of her lungs had ceased. The weight that had crushed her arm and legs was gone. She could no longer feel the terrible draining weakness of blood pouring into her chest. Her head hurt and her scalp felt tight, but it was no longer broken and bleeding.

Having taken stock of her body, she pushed her senses further out. She did it without thought, as naturally as breathing, sensing life around her. She stopped, shocked, and pulled her power back. She hadn't been able to reach outside herself since her exile.

She dove back inside, down deep to her core to locate the source of this change. Two small glittering threads, had been woven back into the empty space at the center of her being.

One was golden, feeding her life, and she recognized her father's essence immediately. It connected her to a trickle of her own lost power. The second was unfamiliar but calm and solid. It was deep blue and fed her weakened body strength.

Confused, she surfaced to her skin and began taking stock of her environment. Luna didn't bother to open her eyes. Without Sol, she couldn't see anyway.

Instead she reached inside for that trickle of power and sent it out to the air currents of the room. A breeze gently began to pass over her skin, and as she mentally whispered questions, the breeze brought answers.

That she lay in a place of safety, she did not doubt. Comfort, warmth and healing energy flowed from all around. Four pillars of power supported this sanctuary and Luna began to wonder if some of her immortal cousins had taken pity and defied Zeus to save her.

Then more mundane scents made themselves known to her. Antiseptic, bleach, soap, a sterilized environment. Not her family then she thought disappointed. But still, powerful beings dwelt here.

Scents of sandalwood and musk swirled nearby, and mixed with the sense of solidarity and comfort. One of these beings was responsible for the dark blue thread, and it was sitting right next to her.

Sol was restless, Leo thought. It was more active now than it had been all week during their vigil, and he wondered about the change. But this was just a brief distraction from the girl in front of him. He turned his eyes back to her face and gasped.

"Donnie!" He called, slightly panicked. Her face, in fact all her exposed skin, had begun to glow softly in the dim light.

Don lept from the balcony in front of his bedroom door to the floor of the living area, and made the door of the infirmary in two strides. Raphael was right behind him since he had taken to sleeping on the couch, just to be nearby.

Mikey stuck his head out of the kitchen and trotted over to see what was up.

Don quickly strode over to his patient, noting that color was returning to her cheeks and that she was breathing more evenly.

"What is it Leo?" He asked, keeping his voice low for the sleeping girl.

"She…she's glowing" Leo said softly in awe.

Raph and Mikey stopped in the doorway blocking the light that had been streaming in from the living quarters, and Don could suddenly see the pale white glow around her sleeping form.

"Maybe that means she's gonna wake up soon, bros." Mikey said happily.

His brothers had all been way too serious and moping around since they'd brought their latest friend home. Sure she'd been pretty badly injured, but Mikey had great faith that the huge glowing dude, and his genius brother, would be able to fix it all.

Mikey had been trying his best to keep the others spirits high, but the atmosphere had begun to dim even his bright outlook. He smiled his beaming grin now, thinking about how great it was going to be to have a new friend in the house. Outside of Casey and April, the brothers trusted few humans enough to really call them friends.

"Ok guys," Don said. "If she is gonna wake soon, let's not overwhelm her with all of us at once. We'll give her some time with Leo and see how she reacts. I'll stay nearby, but out of site. Raph and Mikey, you two stay out until we think she's ready."

Mikey grumbled that if she was blind, she couldn't see them anyway, but they both nodded. Past introductions to humans had not always gone so well, and the girl was still injured. Silently they filed out.

Luna drew her power back. She had too little to squander it at this moment. She would let the slow trickle pool inside until she needed it. She already felt stronger. The power flowing in on that blue thread was speeding her healing. But it was time to get moving again.

Luna was drawn by a powerful curiosity as well. Who were these powerful ones that they could so defy the gods without fear? Carefully, so as not to upset her injuries further, Luna came back to herself. She flexed her arms and legs but moaned in pain. The bones were mending, but she wasn't going to be on her feet anytime soon.

The presence beside her had not yet moved, or spoke, and tired of waiting, Luna finally opened her eyes, even though she knew she could not see. At least it was a signal she was awake.

There was a sharp intake of breath. Luna knew her eyes were startling this way. White pupils and crystal clear iris were not normal for a human. She sighed softly, and cleared her throat.

"Thank you for saving me" she said.

Leonardo gasped again. Her voice was the most beautiful he had ever heard. It was bell like, and resonated with just the slightest hint of power. Something Leo was fast learning to associate with the gods.

Luna waited a bit for a response, and when none was forthcoming, she tried again.

"I don't know how you did it, but thank you." she said

Leo was at a loss for words. For a week he'd been begging her to wake up. Now that she was, he was afraid of saying the wrong thing. Freaking her out. Losing her. He shook his head. What happened to the one his brother's called 'fearless'?

"Don't worry, you are safe here." he said, worriedly, dodging her implied question.

Luna would have smiled at his anxious tone, but her face hurt too much, so she settled for just a quirk of her lips.

"That I do not doubt" She said formally. "Did my father send you?"

It was the only thing she could think would make even powerful beings such as these stand against a god.

"Send me? Uh, no. Not really." Leo replied

"Then how did you find me?" She wondered aloud.

"Sol found me." Leo said cautiously. "It… found me in a tunnel, and asked for help. It showed me you were in danger." He reached out and gently took her good hand, happy that she did not flinch away from his touch.

"Sol?!" she exclaimed. "Sol are you here?"

At her cry, Sol left off happily orbiting Leo's head and went to hover over Luna. She freed her hand from Leo's grip and raised it unerringly to the little flame. It settled itself happily into her palm, and made a little chirping cry that was part glad greeting and part purr.

"I'm so happy you're here, my friend." She said. Then her tone became extremely formal.

"Little one, will you join with me again and lend me your sight once more?"

Sol gave another happy chirp and zipped to float above her head. Slowly, it began to unravel it's form, like a piece of soft blue string that lowered until it touched the top of Luna's head. As it's blue light began to drain down into Luna, her crystal clear eyes shimmered, and filled from the bottom with Sol's light.

A moment later Sol faded out completely and the light in Luna's eyes dimmed to a normal human blue.