Hey there! I'm so sorry this took so long. It is really hard to write a fight scene and an emotional scene. And, considering that this chapter has both, you can image my frustration over writing this. But, it is finally done!
One more chapter and this story will be done!
Warning: there will be blood in this chapter.
Enjoy!
Razahr, Fishface, and a handful of Foot Ninjas robots were found walking through the empty sewers, scanning the place.
"You sure this is the way to their lair," Fishface asked Razahr suspiciously.
"That is what Leonardo has told us," Razahr answered, glaring at Fishface before returning to his search. "We should be getting close."
They journeyed on through the tunnels for a while, finding nothing so far.
Just then, Razahr stopped. "Wait," he said, his ears twitching.
"Oh, what now," Fishface asked, irritated.
"I hear something," Razahr responded. He took a short moment to listen carefully. "And . . . it sounds like it's . . ."
All of a sudden, a blinding light gleamed from the other end of the tunnel, the sound of racing ties thundering louder with every second.
"GETTING CLOSER!" Razahr shouted in alarm.
He and Fishface quickly jumped out of the way, but the foot ninjas weren't so lucky. They were all instantly smashed into by the Shellraiser. Although the Shellraiser swerved uncontrollably, as if a drunk man was driving it, the vehicle hastily drove down the tunnel, leaving behind scatterings of the foot bots' remains.
"It's the turtles," Fishface shouted, immediately jumping back to his robotic feet.
"They're getting away," Razahr exclaimed, already up. "After them!"
"I don't take orders from you," Fishface grumbled, even though he joined Razahr on chasing the escaping vehicle.
Inside the Shellraiser, Splinter was struggling to keep his sons' vehicle in place, but his complete lack of driving was making it very difficult for him. So difficult, that the Shellraiser kept scratched against the tunnel walls.
The Shellraiser eventually made its way up to the surface and down an empty street of New York. The two mutants tried to pursue, but they fell far behind the speedy vehicle.
"It's . . . it's too fast," Fishface panted, close to cave in from exhaustion.
Not one to give up that easily, Razahr looked over and spotted a motorcycle nearby.
Growling, Razahr jumped onto the motorcycle and, turning it on, he rode off after the Shellraiser, leaving behind a tired and angry Fishface.
Fishface paused to take a deep breath. And then, he collapsed.
Thanks to the motorcycle, Razahr was getting closer and closer to the Shellraiser. Once he was right next to it, he jumped off of the motorcycle (ignoring it crashing into a random car) and landed on the roof of the Shellraiser.
Hearing a bump above him, Splinter checked the video camera beside him and discovered Razahr on the roof. Splinter had hoped that the mutants would have given up, but this one was very persistent.
Donnie had told him that, if something like this happened, Splinter should press the buttons that will activate a booby trap around the vehicle. The only problem was that it was on the other side of the vehicle, out of Splinter's reach.
Splinter would not dare leave the wheel; it would only make the driving far worse. So, Splinter pulled out his spinning star and threw it over his shoulder toward the buttons, hoping it will land on the right one.
However, the button the spinning star landed on had activated the trash cannon . . . which Razahr was standing right behind it. He watched with perplexity as the cannon fired a ball of trash far away from him.
Seeing this on the camera, Splinter groaned. Donnie should really have gone over each of the buttons.
He tried swerving the Shellraiser more (which wasn't so hard), trying to get Razahr off.
Instead, Razahr slammed his razor-sharp claws in one hand into the roof, hooking himself to it.
Splinter jumped in surprise at the claws tearing through the roof. He was running out of options.
Splinter sharply turned the Shellraiser around, almost throwing the vehicle to its side. Razahr slipped off his feet and fell flat-belly on the roof, but his claws were steadfast on it.
Razahr struggled to get up, but the Shellraiser would not stay steady.
Splinter wasn't sure now if his uncontrollable driving was on purpose or not.
Meanwhile, Fishface dragged himself up from the ground, getting as much energy as he could in order to chase the turtles' vehicle. Unfortunately, just as he got onto his robotic feet, he saw the Shellraiser heading straight toward him.
Again.
"Oh, great," Fishface mumbled before getting hit by the vehicle, flying out and landing hard against a building wall. He slipped down on it, falling unconscious.
Losing his patience, Razahr dug his claws from his free hand into the Shellraiser's roof, using both his sharp fingers to tear an opening on the roof for him.
Seeing this from inside, Splinter knew he was almost out of time. He had to do something.
Finally forced to leave the wheel, Splinter jumped out of his seat and kicked the roof with so much force from his feet.
The impact caused the claws to slip out and Razahr flew away, landing among a group of cars and falling unconscious on top of them.
Unfortunately for Splinter, abandoning the wheel had caused the Shellraiser to crash through empty cars, mailboxes, and was very close to running over an old, good-natured woman.
Splinter quickly returned to the wheel and struggled to control the vehicle, fearing for his life.
At last, the Shellraiser had later found its way back into the sewers. Once he was deep inside the tunnels, Splinter immediately stopped the vehicle, shutting it off.
He had never felt more relieved in his life.
Still feeling his heart racing from what had happened, Splinter slowly got out of the Shellraiser, the vehicle looking pretty beaten up from its expedition.
Splinter placed his hand on the Shellraiser to steady himself. He rubbed his head, groaning. "Never . . . again."
The night loomed over New York City. The streets below were ominously silent, with faint sounds of honking here and there. Most of the people have already fallen asleep, but the city stayed wide awake. The rooftops were all empty. And they were all being watched over by a mutant turtle in a black ninja mask.
Leo stood high atop a billboard, his eyes between his scars scanning below him. The gentle wind blew against his mask and his new Foot uniform, with black wrappings and little armors on his body. His cold eyes searched the rooftops and the streets. He had been hunting for the turtles for almost an hour.
He had to find those turtles. He will not fail his master again.
Suddenly, his sharp eyes spotted something.
There, walking down a street alone, was April O'Neil.
Of course. She would know where the turtles are. Or, better yet, be used as bait for the turtles.
With quickness and silence, Leo hopped off the billboard and jumped over the rooftops, shadowing her.
April stopped suddenly, her hand to her temple. She sensed someone stalking her. And it felt . . . familiar.
April smiled secretly and continued on walking until she disappeared into an alleyway, climbing up its fire escape to the rooftop.
Leo watched her from the darkness, wondering what she was doing.
Once on top, April made her way over to the other side of the rooftop and rested her arms on a parapet wall, gazing at the starlight city.
Alarms were going off in his head, warning Leo that this could be another trap.
Well, we'll just have to see if it is.
April's senses inside her head kicked in again, only it felt more like a cautionary.
She turned around, only to gasp in surprise when she found Leo standing right in front of her, staring at her with unfriendly eyes.
Before April could do anything, Leo quickly grabbed her arm harshly, pulling her closer to him, and took out his katana with his free hand to place its tip extremely close to her neck.
"Where are the turtles?" Leo demanded, his voice chilling.
"Leo, what . . . what's going on," April asked in a frightened and confused voice, keeping her head and neck very still to avoid feeling the sharp end of the sword. "What's gotten into you?"
"I don't have time for your useless questions." Leo tightened his grip on April's arm, causing her to wince in pain. "Tell me where the turtles are!"
"Leo, stop! You're hurting me!" April pleaded, her fingers furtively slipping into her back pocket. "I'll tell you anything, just stop! Please!"
Leo ceased his constriction, but his grip remained strong, never removing his sword from her neck. "Where-Are-The-Turtles?"
April looked up at him with sorrowful eyes.
Then, all of a sudden, April frowned and jabbed something on Leo's arm. Leo released her and dropped his katana to see that April had stabbed his arm with a syringe, its liquid sinking through his skin.
"They're already here," She answered, smirking in success.
Furious, Leo stood back and pulled the syringe out of him, hastily throwing it to the ground.
But it was too late. The syringe lay broken on the ground, empty.
Leo turned to April, a fiery temper burning inside of him. "What did you put inside me?"
April didn't respond, terrified to see pure rage in Leo's eyes. Something that she has never seen in his eyes before.
Leo roared angrily, pulling April and slapping her so hard, she flew across the rooftop.
Pulling out his other katana and picking up his fallen one, Leo walked over to her. April, moaning in pain, looked up and gasped as Leo raised his katanas and goes to stab her.
Only for his swords to collide against a bō staff.
Leo saw himself face to face with a furious Donatello.
"Don't you EVER hurt her again!" Donnie threatened Leo.
Donnie pushed Leo's swords off his staff and kicked Leo, having him fall backwards and collapse in the middle of the rooftop.
Donnie turned his head around to April and nodded at her. Understanding the signal, April nodded back with a determined look and, pulling herself up, she ran over to the parapet wall, disappearing over the other side.
Once April was safely away, Donnie turned his attention back to Leo.
By the time Leo got himself up, he spotted both Raph and Mikey jumping out from the shadows and, with Donnie, they went to surround Leo, all their weapons drawn in their ninja stance.
Raph and Donnie glared at their mind-controlled brother, but underneath, fear and loathing for what they are about to do consumed them. Mikey felt the same thing, but he couldn't bear to hide it behind a serious face. He just stared at his older brother in pleading, as if trying to say, 'Please come back; don't make us do this to you!'
Leo looked at each of them for a moment, studying them. Then, Leo chuckled darkly. "Well, well, looks like I've fallen into another one of your little traps. When will I ever learn? Oh, and just to let you all know, Master Shredder no longer needs you anymore. Now, he has ordered me to kill you personally."
Mikey's eyes widened, heartbreak evident in them. "What? You want to kill us?"
"That's not going to happen," Raph declared. He raised his sais toward Leo. "We'll stop you if we have to."
Donnie and Mikey exchanged silent, unhappy looks at each other from what Raph said.
Smirking, Leo tightened his hold on his katanas. "We'll see about that."
And then, Leo began charging and attacking the three, and Raph, Donnie, and Mikey had no choice but to fight back.
Thus, a battle between brothers against brother had begun.
April didn't go far down the fire escape; she stopped at the first landing.
She looked up at the edge of the parapet, hearing the battle take place. She hated the thought of her friends forced to attack each other. She wished there was another way.
Sitting down and with her back against the wall, April took out Donnie's Nintendo DS from her other back pocket and flipped it open. She gave a quick, worried glance at the rooftop above her before turning the Nintendo on.
Both screens switched on, revealing different images. One screen on the top displayed a viewpoint of the miniature submarine, now swimming alongside blood cells and a bone. The bottom screen revealed an x-ray diagram of Leo's body, where a red, blinking dot appeared on Leo's arm, indicating the submarine's position.
Now all April has to do was to use the control buttons on the Nintendo to guide the submarine all the way up to Leo's brain.
April rested her thumb on the control pad and began pressing it upward, watching the submarine move forward in the top screen. All while she sensed her best friends in the whole world fighting their own brother.
Despite everything, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey were holding on pretty well against Leo.
Yes, this evil version of Leo was much quicker and deadlier, showing no mercy in every attack against the three turtles. However, by working together as a team instead of one by one, the three were able to match up to Leo.
And even Leo realized this.
It wasn't until later, when Leo's katana got knocked out by Raph's sai attack that Leo found his chance.
Donnie went to smack Leo with his staff, but Leo caught it instead. With a firm grip on the bō, Leo swung Donnie over the parapet wall. But Raph hurriedly ran to Donnie and caught his hand just in time, holding onto his dangling brother.
"Guys!" Mikey shouted, running after them.
Only to be blocked by Leo, who was smirking down on him.
Gulping nervously, Mikey swung his nunchucks. But Mikey couldn't move. He couldn't hurt his big brother.
"Look, Leo," Mikey said to him, trying to reach out to the old Leo. "You don't have to do this!"
Leo's only response was to ruthlessly slash his katana at him.
Mikey shrieked and quickly block the sword with the chain of his nunchuck, only to feel Leo's harsh kick on his stomach.
Mikey stumbled backwards, feeling pain in his tummy, but he had no time to recover. Leo was right on him, slashing and striking at him. Mikey could only block him or step back from the swords.
"I don't want to hurt you, Leo," Mikey pleaded to him. "Please don't make me do it! I know you're still in there, bro! Come back to us! I want my brother back!"
Mikey was close to tears, but Leo still ignored him.
Suddenly, one of Mikey's nunchucks unintentionally smacked Leo's scarred face, causing him to collapse and hold his aching face.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Mikey squeaked instantly. He went to help Leo, but pulled back, hesitant. He wanted so much to help, but . . .
Mikey couldn't see Leo's face as Leo rubbed his hand over it, groaning. He then looked up and . . . he was smiling at Mikey.
Just the way the old Leo would smile.
"Mikey," Leo gasped in relief. It sounded so much like the good Leo.
Mikey beamed like the jubilant sun.
"Leo!" Mikey exclaimed happily, helping Leo by taking Leo's raised hand and pulling him up. "You're back! It worked!" Mikey went to hug him. "Man, I thought you were gone for goo-"
All of a sudden, Leo took Mikey's arm, twisted it around, and put so much pressure on it that a harsh crack came out from the arm, causing Mikey to scream in agony. Leo then gave Mikey several brutal punches and threw him to the ground.
Clutching his broken arm and crying, Mikey looked up at the towering Leo. Now terrified for his life, Mikey attempted to crawl away from Leo, but that only brought Leo closer to him.
"Leo," Mikey desperately begged. "Stop! Please!"
With a sadistic smile on him the entire time, Leo used the hilt of his katana to hit Mikey's head hard, knocking him out.
"MIKEY!" Raph and Donnie shouted in horror. Raph had just pulled Donnie back onto the roof when they saw what Leo had done to their baby brother.
"YOU BASTARD!" Raph screamed in rage, charging after Leo and colliding against him before Leo could give Mikey a killing blow.
Donnie hurried over to Mikey to quickly check him over before being forced to go and help Raph fight against their atrocious brother.
April covered her mouth to hide the gasp of horror.
She had sense a terrible pain, followed by hearing Raph and Donnie shouting Mikey's name. Something dreadful must have happened to Mikey!
April wanted so much to go up there and help them (or just to see if Mikey was all right). She really hated sitting on the sidelines and not knowing what was going on above her. But she knew she had a job to do, and it was important for her to succeed.
She was the only hope of ending this battle and saving not just the three of her turtle friends. But all four of them.
April returned to the Nintendo, where the submarine had just made it out of Leo's arm. She pressed repeatedly on the upper control pad, wishing from the sub to go faster.
Time was slowly running out for her.
Because of what had happened to Mikey, Raph's and Donnie's fighting had become more determined and anger-driven.
They wanted revenge, but they still couldn't hurt Leo.
At least, not as badly as Leo hurt Mikey.
It didn't help them when Leo had now stolen Mikey's kusarigam and was using that, along with his katanas, as a three-way weapon to battle against the others.
Still, Raph and Donnie were able to hold up against Leo. Barely, but still.
However, Leo had another trick up his wrapped sleeves.
Leo bounded the chain of the kusarigam around Raph's wrist with one hand, while his other hand took on the fighting with his katana. Raph tried to free himself but, after Leo kicked Donnie away, he dragged Raph to the air conditioner and tied him there.
Raph growled, struggling to pull himself free. All while he wondered why Leo would chain him up instead of finishing him off.
Then a terrible thought answered his question.
"Donnie!" he shouted. "Look out!"
Thankfully, Donnie had recovered just in time to block Leo's surprise attack. But now, with Raph momentarily chained up, Donnie faced Leo alone.
They fought for a while, with Donnie quickly coming up with new ideas to counterattack and Leo just looking for an open opportunity for him to strike.
A minute later, he found it.
With his katanas, Leo chopped Donnie's staff in half, and, before Donnie could make any reaction, Leo stabbed him through his shoulder.
Donnie gasped, his severed bō falling out of his frozen hands. He made a weak attempt to push the blade out of his shoulder, but it only caused his hands to bleed.
Taking delight from Donnie's pain, Leo twisted his sword inside Donnie's shoulder, watching Donnie cry out in agony and his body shuddering. A horrified scream from the red masked turtles filled the night.
His brown, teary and hurt-filled eyes gazed at the blue eyed, pitiless turtle. "Leo," he whispered.
Leo took his katana out and gave Donnie one last, hard kick on his stomach. Donnie flew and crashed into a chimney, crumpling to the floor. Donnie struggled to push himself up, but his energy was pouring out of him, like the blood pouring out from his shoulder.
Donnie casted one last look at Leo before falling into unconsciousness.
April nearly burst into a sob.
She sensed another pain and heard Raph shouting Donnie's name.
It took all her effort not to just go up there and stop Leo from hurting them anymore. She had to remind herself that she needed to get the sub to Leo's brain, or else all of what the three turtles have done and sacrificed would have been for nothing.
But the submarine was currently making its way up Leo's back, going way too slow for April's liking.
April's thumb was now banging on the up control pad in desperation.
Why won't this go faster?!
Raph felt like he was about to explode in anger.
He had never felt so much hatred toward Leo before. He wanted to tear Leo apart with his bare hands. He didn't even notice his wrist ripping out from the chain, breaking it into pieces.
Standing up, heaving with fury, he glared intensely at Leo, who merely turned around and dared to smirk at Raph.
"Well, would you look at this," Leo said amusingly. "It's just you and me now. I bet you've wanted this moment to come your whole life."
Raph's mind suddenly reminded him that this wasn't Leo. Leo would never hurt his own brothers. This monster was controlling Leo. And, right now, only April and Donnie's miniature submarine can save him. All Raph could do was to control himself and keep Leo distracted for as long as he can (possibly without one of them getting hurt).
With that in mind, Raph forced himself to wash away his anger. He was instead replaced with dread. "No . . . I never did."
The two turtles glared at each other for what felt like hours in their ninja posture, waiting for the other to make the first move. Dark clouds slowly moved upon the sky.
At last, Leo took the first move and charged after Raph. And Raph was ready for him.
"Come on, come on," April pleaded with it, keeping her voice down so Leo won't hear her. She heard Raph and Leo now in combat, and April feared for Raph's life. Not to mention worrying over Donnie and Mikey's condition and hoping that they were still alive.
At long last, the sub had made it into Leo's head.
"Yes!" she suddenly cried out. Realizing what she just did, she quickly covered her mouth with her hand. That wasn't supposed to happen.
She looked up at the parapet, hoping Leo hadn't heard her.
The fighting had become even more personal and serious. As much as Raph wanted Donnie and Mikey with him, he was still able to hold his own against Leo. They fought more harshly, giving the other numerous cuts. Their blades struck against each other with their own set of goals. One wanting to kill, and the other wanting to stop his opponent.
Raph didn't know how long he could take this. This whole thing felt like he was in a nightmare, and he desperately wanted to wake up from this.
Leo, however, just wanted to finish the job. He was beginning to get impatient, craving to murder someone.
Just then, Leo heard a cry.
And it was coming from the same direction April disappeared.
Suspicious, Leo unexpectedly took hold of Raph's arm, flipping him over and throwing him away, not even bothering to know where Raph landed.
Now with Raph distracted (again), Leo turned to the parapet wall where April's voice came from.
April used the tiny submarine to swim around Leo's brain, searching for the mind-control device. She was putting so much focus on this, so close to ending this and stopping this fight before Leo actually kills them.
Finally, there it was. A miniature mind-control device attached to the brain, its light blinking on and off.
She smiled in triumph. Now all April has to do is switch the control driving to control aiming, direct it at the device, and then press the A button, activating the tiny torpedo and having it destroy the device, freeing Leo at last.
Once she had a good aim of the device, her thumb reached toward the A button.
All of the sudden, a sword stabbed right through the Nintendo. April screamed, dropping the Nintendo. It fell on the landing (with its sword sticking through the barred floor) and right between her legs, smoke and sparks sputtering out from it.
April looked at the sword and instantly recognized it. It was Leo's katana.
Horrified, April looked up, seeing Leo watching her from the rooftop, grinning wickedly.
"No!" she whispered.
Raph pulled himself up after colliding into a parapet wall, feeling pain spreading over his body from the impact.
Just then, he heard April screaming.
His eyes shot up to see Leo leaning over a parapet wall at the other side of the rooftop.
April!
His heart racing with worry, Ralph instantly ran forward and pushed Leo aside.
When he saw April unharmed, Raph calmed down.
Until he saw one of Leo's katanas stabbed right through Donnie's Nintendo, destroying it.
Destroying any chance of getting the old Leo back.
"No," Raph muttered in pure horror. A distant thunder can scarcely be heard.
Then, suddenly, Raph shouted, "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
That was it. They're last hope. And it was gone. His Leo was gone forever; he will never come back to them.
And it was all because of that monster that stood beside him, watching him with a heartless grin.
Now, absolute, uncontrollable rage overflowed Raph as he slowly turned to face Leo.
The only thing Raph could see now was scorching red and that demon that stood before him. Raph no longer had any control over his body. And he no longer bothered to stop himself.
He wanted revenge. He wanted blood.
With a vicious yell, Raph charged after and attacked Leo.
April hurriedly pulled the katana out from the Nintendo and held Donnie's destroyed technology in her shaking hands.
"No, no, no, no!" she muttered frantically to herself.
She desperately started pressing the A button again and again and again. But nothing happened.
"Please, no!" she cried, shaking the Nintendo. "Don't do this! Please work! Please!"
Just then, sparks appeared from her hands and into the Nintendo. It fizzled and flashed on, but only for a second.
However, that second was all it took to release the torpedo.
April stared at the now dead Nintendo, unsure if the torpedo will actually hit the device or not. April hoped against hope that it will.
She looked back up at the rooftop. But if it missed or worse . . .
With a frown, April pulled out her fan.
Raph was out of control, attacking Leo with everything he got. He fought like a raging beast with sais. He no longer cared if he injured Leo, or even murdered him. His Leo was already gone.
Leo was now the one blocking him, but he shared his own attacks as well. And all while keeping that vicious smile on his scarred face.
The fight eventually led to Leo's katanas and Raph's sais colliding, their weapons wrestling against each other. Their forces were growing stronger and stronger and stronger.
A dark blanket of clouds have now completely covered the full moon and the sky, more sounds of distant thunder unheard by the turtles.
Finally, Leo slipped and slashed his katanas across Raph's skin. Raph yelled in pain, but Leo didn't stop there.
Leo slashed Raph's legs, arms, body, shell, every single part of Raph's body. Leo then mercilessly beat up Raph's bloodied body and finally threw him down to the ground, kicking the fallen sais away.
Raph was now lying flat on his back, pain burning his body. He felt his blood oozing all over his skin.
There was a single spark hidden in the dark clouds, followed by a low rumble.
He attempted to push himself up, but Leo would not have it. He smashed his foot on Raph's bruised chest (causing Raph to groan in pain) and pushed him down firmly.
In normal situations, Raph would have been strong enough to shove Leo off of him. But because of his wounds, not to mention the strong pressure from Leo's foot on him, strength abandoned Raph.
Leo held the tip of his sword at Raph's neck, staring down at the hothead turtle. Raph could only let out a weak growl.
With a victorious, wicked smirk, Leo slowly raised his sword high above, ready to stab through Raph's throat and finally kill him. Lightening flashed behind him.
Watching this, Raph realized with horror that he had failed. Donnie's Nintendo was destroyed and Leo was in Shredder's complete control. Worst of all, Raph had failed to protect his two brothers, who now lay unconscious close by and were next in line for the expiry. He had failed to keep his promise he made to Master Splinter to return home with all of his brothers alive and well.
Oh, Master Splinter.
Raph felt a horrible pain of defeat as he stared at his lost brother. Raph's hard mask melted into a plea for his brother, his best friend, to come back to him. He no longer cared if he does end up dying. He just wanted his Leo back.
But Leo will never come back, and Raph will never go back home.
Raph slowly closed his eyes, accepting his fate. A tear escaped from his eyelids and slowly slipped down the side of his face.
Leo then pushed his katana down with great force, straight down toward Raph's neck.
And suddenly, the katana froze, just an inch from the throat.
Raph felt the tip of the blade, but did not feel any pain, or really anything else. Confused, he opened his eyes.
Leo's eyes had widened, staring into nothing. Another lightening appeared above him.
Then, Leo closed his eyes shut, groaning as his hand went to his head. He looked down and saw Raph, as if discovering him for the first time.
"Raph?" Leo said.
Raph couldn't help but choke a sob of joy.
"You're back," Raph whispered before allowing himself to fall into unconsciousness, knowing that everything will be all right now.
Leo looked at Raph in bewilderment until he spotted his foot on him. He quickly got off of Raph.
Leo suddenly noticed the cuts and blood all over Raph. He looked down to see his own katanas, where there was blood on their blades.
Leo immediately dropped his weapons in pure horror, backing away from them.
He froze when he saw Donnie and Mikey close by, both unconscious and wounded as well.
All at once, memories came over him. He remembered everything. He remembered all that he had done.
He remembered attacking and hurting his own family, with a strong intent to kill them.
No.
Master Splinter.
Mikey.
Donnie.
. . . Raph.
Leo fell to his knees, his face a mask of utter devastation. What have I done? What did I almost do?
By the time April finally made it onto the rooftop, the fight was already over. She gasped when she saw Raph, Donnie, and Mikey lying around the rooftop, all covered with bruises, gashes, and . . . blood!
What's worse . . . she couldn't feel anything from them. Nothing!
She was too late. Her best friends were gone.
April turned to Leo, fury rising inside of her. Tightening her grip on her medal fan, she started to march after Leo.
Only to stop when she heard Donnie groaning. And then a wave of pain hit her mind.
Instantly forgetting her plan, April rushed over to him and checked his pulse. She felt a beat. And another. And another. A sigh escaped her joyful lips.
She quickly went over to Mikey to check his pulse, and felt it beating as well. She did the same over to Raph and felt the same beat.
They were all still alive. Injured, but alive.
April stood up and turned to Leo. Does that mean . . .
Leo's head was bowed low, so April couldn't see his face.
She cautiously walked up to him. "Leo?" she called to him.
He remained still for a moment, and then his head slowly rose up to look at April.
Tears were streaming down on his broken face.
It was that moment that April knew that the old Leo was back. She would have celebrated if it wasn't for the fact that her three friends were damaged, and Leo . . .
Oh, Leo.
Drops from the sky gently fell over the two, but none of them noticed the rain.
April went to him, but Leo suddenly crawled away from her, his teary eyes widened in fear.
"No, stay away from me!" Leo cried desperately at her, raising his shaking hand up to stop her. "Please! I hurt you too!"
Ignoring his plea, April threw her fan away, fell to her knees, and pulled Leo into a tight hug. Unable to take it anymore, Leo buried his face into her wet shoulder and wrapped his trembling arms around her, sobbing uncontrollably.
They held each other in the middle of the rain, the memories of Leo's action toward his family haunting him.