"Usagi!"
His eyesight blurring, Usagi somehow managed to look up. No, he cried to himself. Tomoe Ame… stay back. This is not your fight. Despite his urgent mental pleas, he could see Tomoe creep into view, appalled by the image before her.
Donatello also looked up. "So, you've brought another accomplice, have you?" With a finishing violent push on his bo that caused Usagi to finally black out, Donatello rose up to his knees. "And if it isn't our old pal Gennosuke. Come to finish me off, Gen?"
Tomoe could do little else but gawk at the turtle, wondering if he were mad. Seeing him stand and jump for her, she decided that madness had nothing to do with it. He was having a waking nightmare in which Usagi was the enemy. And, she realized as she ducked beneath him and lunged for Usagi's dropped katanas, he had given her Gennosuke's identity to compensate for the fact that Donatello did not know her.
Somehow, the large rhino managed to dodge Donatello's attack and headed for his dead ally's discarded weapons. Was Usagi dead? If he was, then it would have been the first life Donatello had taken. Something about that exhilarated him, and he would see to it that the gluttonous Gennosuke would help sate his thrilling and terrifying new thirst for revenge.
"Donatello-san, listen to me," Tomoe tried to reason. She parried his attack with Usagi's katanas and pushed the turtle away, rising to her feet. "I am not Gennosuke. My name is Tomoe Ame, and I am a friend of your brother Leonardo."
Donatello saw Gennosuke open his mouth to speak. "Hear me, you foolish reptile," the deep voice boomed out. "You've made a mistake to tangle with the likes of Miyamoto Usagi, Kojima, and the great and powerful Gennosuke."
Tomoe became downhearted when Donatello replied, "Save it, Gen. You might as well put the swords down and lie down, because I'm through with words." Donatello struck again, and Tomoe found that it took all of her limited energy simply to guard herself against the turtle's blows. I cannot hurt him, she told herself. Usagi had vowed to Leonardo-san that he would protect him, and if Usagi is no more, it is now my duty to carry out his promise.
The thought of Usagi's possible demise momentarily distracted Tomoe, making her look down at Usagi's motionless body as she dreaded the worse. This brief diversion earned her a solid hit in the stomach, forcing her to double over. Unable to voice a plea or to even move, Tomoe waited for the next blow. The staff struck her back, knocking her to the floor. Combined with the conditions of her recent imprisonment, this was all Tomoe could take. Hoping that this was not the end and that she had not failed Usagi and Leonardo, she swiftly lost consciousness.
Looking down at what he saw as two mercenaries, Donatello felt a hollow sense of victory. They were both indeed still breathing, but he couldn't bring himself to put them out of their miseries while they lay helpless. Despite it all, he knew that it would be dishonorable. If Splinter had taught him anything, it was-
Splinter! The voice inside his head seemed foreign, unusual, yet insistent. Master Splinter! Gone! Just like April and Raph. And who did that? "Kojima," he answered himself quietly.
Looking up, he saw that Kojima had recovered from the blow Donatello had administered before and was now slowly walking through the lair. The only person alive other than the two of them was now Michelangelo. Donatello was willing to bet that Michelangelo had hidden in fear and Kojima was now searching for him.
Carefully approaching the unmoving Gennosuke, Donatello stooped down and grabbed hold of Usagi's katanas. These were the same swords that the treacherous rabbit had used to dispense of his first family member, and it was fitting that they would also be the ones he would use to get rid of the final assassin. With a snarl, Donatello ran for Kojima, focused on his demise.
"Donnie! Whoa, Donnie, calm down!" Donatello abruptly stopped when Michelangelo appeared out of nowhere, waving his hands in front of his brother. "That's it, Donnie. Just take it easy."
"Mikey, lower your voice," Donatello whispered. "Get out of here and go stay with Casey. I'll deal with Kojima." Michelangelo blinked at him, bewildered, before turning around and looking towards the giant warthog.
"Don," Mikey said, turning back to him. "I don't know how to break this to you, but the other green guy with the swords is Leo, not Kojima." He was only the more confused when Donatello pushed him away angrily.
"Don't play games with me, Mikey," Donatello told him in a choked voice. "Leo's gone. Everyone's gone. For some reason, we're the only two left alive, and I'm not going to let either of us go down. Now get out of here. This is going to be dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt."
As Donatello stormed past him, Michelangelo followed after, flabbergasted. "Hey, what's the deal here, bro? Since when did you and Leo switch places? He's the one who's usually crying that he lost you in his-" In his nightmares, Michelangelo suddenly realized. That was when he took a good look at his brother. Though Donatello still recognized him for who he was, Michelangelo had the distinct feeling that he had no idea of where he was, what was currently going on… or what he might unintentionally do to Leonardo with those blades.
His hand dropped down to his belt, feeling the hilt of an unfamiliar weapon. Remembering about Raphael's sai that he had picked up, Michelangelo was struck with an idea. Running towards his brother, he called, "Donnie!"
Seeming annoyed, Donatello stopped and spun around once more. He took a step back in shock when he saw his brother charging after him with the new weapon. He raised his hands to defend himself, but to no avail. Michelangelo grabbed hold of Donatello's arms and pushed them downwards, slashing with the sai.
Michelangelo took a step back, watching Donatello cringe and wait for pain. The white wisps of webbing gently floated from around his shoulders, landing silently on the ground. When Donatello opened his eyes and looked about himself perplexedly, Michelangelo knew that he had done it. By tearing away the webs, he had freed his brother. "Mikey?" Donatello's voice regained its low, gentle quality. Grateful, Michelangelo hoped that Donatello was up to the idea of guarding Raphael, Usagi, and Tomoe Ame while he went to help Leonardo against Akumu.
His hopes were dashed when Donatello went on. "Mikey, don't ever do that again. I know that you're probably experiencing shock and hostile emotions after all the deaths today, but nothing you try to do is going to keep me from doing what I have to do to protect our family's honor." With a sudden swipe of his arm, Donatello pushed Michelangelo to the ground and went back to his mission of destroying a brother that he already believed to be dead.
Leonardo continued on his retreat from the deteriorating version of his beloved master. Horrid images of that final night came flooding back, suffocating him. The long, hard fight against Bishop's androids, the intense heat as the explosives in the room began to destabilize. The only one of them that was safe was Donatello, since he had to leave, he had to get the radioactive components out of there. Leonardo had finally decided that they needed to retreat. Raphael and Michelangelo made it to the escape route first. Leonardo turned to help Splinter, but he was being attacked by one last android, one that Leonardo had not done away with because he thought it posed no danger. He would have gone back, he would have perished with his master as a noble warrior would have… but Splinter forbade it. It had been his last command of Leonardo, and the turtle would have been dishonored in his death had he went against it.
A putrid smell of decomposition now filled Leonardo's nose, causing him to look away. Two shadows shimmered before his line of sight, and Leonardo suddenly knew what they symbolized. Yes, they were Raphael and Michelangelo. But this was no prophesy of a coming demise. These were the images of the two brothers that he had needed to protect, that he needed to get out of the building, as per Splinter's wishes. And Leonardo suddenly realized why it was Donatello whom appeared as a corpse to him every night. Donatello needed his help, needed his protection… but the only ones he focused on that night were Raphael and Michelangelo. Such an asinine reason to feel guilt, given the circumstances… but the small seed of shame grew into overpowering proportions in the disoriented landscape of his nightmares.
Did Donatello harbor resentment towards him? Had Leonardo been favoring their distempered and childish brothers all along, and trusting that Donatello was reasonable enough to deal with life on his own? Who had he mourned with after the building collapsed? Had he even given a thought to whether or not Donatello had managed to escape? Donatello had been subject to the most danger, given his hazardous cargo, and yet… yet….
"No," he breathed. "Wake up. Come on, Leo, wake up." As always, he willed himself to sidestep the still-approaching figure of his deceased master. And for the first time… his body obeyed.
Surprised, Leonardo found that he could move in this nightmare. His will was his own. He saw that his swords were in his hands, and he swung them experimentally. He heard a chilling rustling sound and looked up. Something was laughing… and it was this mockery of his Splinter.
No longer terrified of the being, Leonardo quickly grew angry at it. He saw it and all other aspects of this fantasy for what they were: elements of a plot to disarm him and to drive him and his brothers mad. "There's no waking up," he murmured, echoing Donatello's words to him from his night terrors, "when you're in for an eternal sleep."
"And do you intend to put me to sleep, failure?" The voice that came from the rat was the all-too familiar voice of Akumu, and Leonardo silently vowed that those would be among her last words. With a yell, Leonardo lunged for the monster that took his father's form. His swords went through nothing more than smoke.
The crackling laughter rose up once more as the Splinter imposter solidified again besides where Leonardo's sword had fallen. With a horizontal strike from the katana, the figure dispersed into wisps of fog.
The ground seemed to tremble, and upon looking downwards Leonardo saw that he was standing on moist earth. Knowing what was coming, he backed away just as three brown skeletal arms shot out of the ground, reaching for him. Though he knew what would happen when he attempted an attack, he lowered his sword on them nonetheless. Curls of mist rose from where the arms had been.
He suddenly heard a familiar voice rise up, calling to him urgently. It almost sounded like Michelangelo, but when he turned around, Leonardo saw the final component of his nightmare. He had been waiting for it, and he would get rid of it once and for all. Running towards him was the ghastly apparition of Donatello.
Resolved to be rid of these night terrors and battle Akumu face-to-face, Leonardo ran after the false image of his brother. He swung one katana, and was surprised that it was parried with another. Leonardo's first thought was that the idea of Donatello wielding a pair of blades was what struck him as strange. He realized too late that it wasn't the weapons that should have bothered him, but the fact that this being was solid. He struck with his second sword in the other turtle's abdomen… and froze when he realized that his movement was mirrored.
Donatello halted as Kojima's claws hit him. The pain was blinding, or so he thought. In reality, they helped him to see. As the sharp edge remained imbedded under his flesh, the image of the destroyed lair in front of him seemed to melt away into blackness. As it did, the figure in front of him seemed to drip away, revealing someone else. "L-…Leo?"
Leonardo blinked. The figure on the other end of his sword suddenly lost his injuries, his grotesqueness, his maliciousness. The scared, unimposing being in front of him was simply his brother. And before he even felt the pain of the wound he received, Leonardo realized that he had just struck Donatello a dangerous blow. "Donnie," he gasped.
From his petrified position on the ground, Michelangelo stared at the grisly sight in front of him. His two brothers, under the influence of powerful curses, have just struck one another down. They were gaping at each other, immobile. Finally, Donatello's hand fell from the sword he had injected into Leonardo's torso, and the grief-stricken turtle fell backwards, wrenching Leonardo's katana from his hand. As Leonardo fell to his knees and gawked at the too-real image of his still brother, Michelangelo couldn't bear to look on.
Looking up, Michelangelo saw the evil Akumu watching the entire ordeal and laughing to herself. Exchanging his sorrow for fury, Michelangelo pushed himself up to his feet and silently rushed at her. Laugh it up, you witch, he thought as he saw that Akumu hadn't even noticed his advancement. That's the last prank you're ever gonna pull.
Before Akumu realized what was happening, her two front right legs had been entangled in one of Michelangelo's hurled nunchucks. "What?" Her hiss became all the more enraged, for here was some trivial fool who was attempting to rob her of her enjoyment. She raised the two legs in an attempt to shake the chains off, but doing this only revealed her sensitive underside, giving Michelangelo a clear shot with his remaining nunchuck. She cried out in pain and rage, falling to her left side.
Michelangelo swiftly untangled the thrown nunchuck from Akumu's legs, leaping up to stand on her stomach. From there, he could see the deadly stinger that protruded from behind him and quickly jumped towards it, just missing a gush of webs that meant to ensnare him. Not wanting to suffer Raphael's fate, he wrapped one of his nunchucks against the giant stinger and pulled with all of his strength. He heard a chilling crack as it snapped off, causing another shrill cry from the spider. A thick black fluid oozed out of the lesion, bubbling and smoking. Michelangelo shivered as he wondered whether this was her blood or her venom, and he hoped—for Raphael's sake—that it wasn't both.
The substance seemed to creep up the chains of his nunchuck, forcing Michelangelo to discard it. It was just as well; Akumu was writhing in pain and he would soon be bucked off her abdomen. Jumping down onto the ground, Michelangelo prepared himself for what he knew to be the final round.
Somehow Akumu managed to roll back into a standing position, but Michelangelo noticed that her rear legs buckled and she remained grounded on her back end. "You pretentious little fool," she screeched at him. She seemed to shake, and Michelangelo backed away as he awaited whatever new surprise Akumu had hidden.
He resisted the urge to shield his eyes as a blinding silver light suddenly emanated from her body, like bolts of lightning streaking across the darkness. Ignoring the exhausted soreness in his bones, Michelangelo leapt to the ground in front of him, flipped off to his left, and somersaulted to Akumu's side. Every bolt missed him by a mere nanosecond, only aiding in the enemy's frustration.
Aggravated, Akumu dove for Michelangelo, but she was much too slow with the open wound where her stinger used to be. He easily dodged her attack and swung with his nunchuck. Unfortunately, her front legs were just as quick as ever. She caught hold of the weapon and jerked it away from him, flinging it an unknowable distance away in the black room that seemed to expand forever.
She bore down on him with her leg, but he surprised her. One last weapon reached out and slashed at the leg, discharging more of that disgusting internal fluid. As she screamed in pain, Michelangelo was grateful that he had kept Raphael's sai on him.
He ran for Akumu just as she managed to shake away her ache and glare at him. With a jump, Michelangelo rammed the pointed edge of his weapon straight into one side of her ugly bright red eyes.
He wasn't expecting her to bat him away with her good front arm. The impact came to his stomach, knocking him away and making him lose his grip on his weapon. Rolling on the ground, Michelangelo slowly came to a stop and peered up at Akumu. Her rage was terrifying, and she shook her head until she managed to dislodge the sai from her eyes. It too disappeared into the oblivion of the room.
Michelangelo made it up on all fours, shaking away any sense of hurt. Akumu was now mostly blinded, which might just make her more dangerous. This meant that she would now strike anywhere that she imagined a threat, which could take out everyone in the room in only a matter of minutes, if even that long. He didn't have any weapons, but he would have to do his best to make do with what he had.
"Here." Michelangelo turned at the unexpected voice. He had landed by Raphael and felt a sense of overwhelming joy when he saw that it was he who had spoken to him. Crawling over to him, Michelangelo called his name with a smile on his face. The smile disappeared when he saw that Raphael was holding out his remaining sai. "Take this," Raphael muttered, "and show Spiderwoman over there what happens when she messes with the turtles."
His elation over Raphael's well-being quickly disappeared as he remembered the grim task that lay ahead and the events that led to it. Michelangelo was no leader, nor was he the smartest or strongest. But as it stood, the leader and the smart one were most likely gone, and the strongest one was incapacitated. This was it. Either he and Raphael would make it out of there and carry Usagi and Tomoe with them, or all of them would perish. And it all depended on him.
Responsibility. Honor. Life. These were all a part of his own nightmares that he had kept silent about it. Being forced to fight for all of these things… and failing. Failing miserably… and having his brothers pay the consequences for his mistakes.
Regardless of his fear, Michelangelo took the sai from Raphael, holding his hand firmly. "I'm not gonna let you down, bro," he promised. As he stood and turned back to Akumu, he didn't see the look of awe that came over Raphael's face. Lying there with a numb leg and a heavy sense of illness overwhelming him, Raphael realized that his little brother was growing up.
Michelangelo stopped only a few paces away from Akumu, staring her down. She was still thrashing her head, that horrible bubbling liquid dripping from her punctured eyes. She stopped suddenly, as though sensing his gaze. Cracking his knuckles as he clenched the remaining sai tightly, Michelangelo thought, Cue the fight music.
He jumped for her, but she apparently was able to either see him or feel his movement. One of her front legs shot out and caught him on the shoulder. It was the one he had cut earlier, and he felt a burning sensation on his flesh where her vile blood touched him. It also felt as though she scratched him pretty badly.
That didn't matter. He landed on his feet and grabbed hold of her leg, using the sai to hack through it. She continued to scream in her pain and wrath, but Michelangelo paid her no mind. If her legs were going to keep flailing at him, he was simply going to have to do something about them.
Raphael watched from the ground as his brother worked on Akumu. Try as he might, it was all he could do to raise himself on his elbows. If Michelangelo ended up needing him at any point, this was going to turn into a sticky situation. I'm not gonna let you down, bro. The words sounded suspiciously as though there was a deeper mission behind them.
Raphael then realized that everyone else was missing. How had that happened? He distinctly remembered walking into the room with Michelangelo, Leonardo, Usagi, and Tomoe Ame, and he recalled seeing Donatello in the area as well. Why weren't any of them helping Michelangelo? Why was he fighting… alone?
No, Raphael tried to convince himself. No, it ain't true. Whirling around as quickly as his headache and nausea would allow him, he searched about in the blackness of the room for signs of life. What looked like many neko ninja lay scattered about, either dead or so far away from consciousness that they wouldn't pose a threat in a long time. Beyond them, he caught sight of a white figure breathing shallowly and knew this to be Usagi. He was still alive, at least, but it looked like he was definitely down for the count. A crumpled heap clothed in pink was lying besides the samurai, and Raphael took this for Tomoe. Had Akumu stuck her poison in them as well?
Raphael slowly rolled himself away from the fight between Akumu and Michelangelo, absorbed in the task of finding survivors. It didn't take him long before his eyes came upon a chilling sight. Two dark yet familiar figures were lying motionless, their black outlines all that were visible. Though the position of one of them made it so that he couldn't see anything more than the shape of legs and a shell, the other one was lying on his back, the unmistakable silhouette of a katana jutting out from his middle.
No. Which one was it? Leonardo? Donatello? Or was it both of them? No, no, no. This ain't happenin'. This is just another one 'a them crazy mind games-
Raphael's ardent appeal to an unknown deity was cut off by the sharp cry of his brother. He managed to look up just in time to see Michelangelo's body sailing over him. "Mikey!" With a wince, Raphael turned away as Michelangelo hit the floor with a resounding thud.
Peering behind him, Raphael saw that it wasn't Michelangelo's fall that made the booming echo, but a continuous outcry from the nearly-crushed spider. Despite the spastic way she shook her head, Akumu couldn't extricate the sai that Michelangelo had sunk into the back of her head. Curls of smoke rose up around her ghastly face in a way that made Raphael smirk in spite of himself. Nice goin', Mikey.
Remembering about his brother, Raphael turned and attempted to crawl towards him, dragging his numb leg behind him like a war wound. Never… gonna get to him… at this rate. Frustrated by his own injuries and concerned by the fact that he seemed to be the only sentient, non-malevolent creature in the vicinity, Raphael clenched his fist and resisted the urge to yell.
He was surprised to see a light shining from behind him, making the region ahead visible. Raphael could see that the figures ahead of him were indeed Donatello and Leonardo, and it appeared as though neither were breathing. Ignoring the tears shimmering in his eyes, Raphael looked to Michelangelo and saw that he hardly recognized his own brother. Some sort of black substance combined with the ruby blood on his chest, giving him the image of a horror movie monster. But still, he breathed. That would have to be enough for Raphael for now.
Turning, Raphael expected to see the injured Akumu using her last bit of energy to encompass them in some kind of electric ball, bringing everyone down along with her. He soon saw, however, that this light was far too white to have been produced directly from the spider who favored darkness. In the ball of radiance that suddenly shone, Raphael could see Akumu's gray outline still shaking, but now the movement no longer seemed focused upon her anger. Something about it now appeared almost… fearful.
Raphael shielded his eyes as the light became too much for him to bear. He was all the more confused when a new voice entered the room, seeming to stem from everywhere. "Akumu," the voice cried out sternly. It was a feminine tone and seemed to be unused to this deafening volume, but this did not stop her from her harsh reprimand. "You have committed horrendous atrocities before, but this is beyond anything that I would expect from you."
A shape suddenly moved in besides Akumu, matching her in size and form. Two other, smaller figures accompanied the new arrival. Raphael could see little else from the spaces between his fingers before the luminosity hurt his eyes. Squeezing them shut and willing his head not to implode with everything he had been through that night, Raphael was forced to rely upon what he heard.
"Your allegiance to Lord Hebi," the voice continued, "whether only for monetary gain or no, is enough to have you tried for crimes against the Shogun. Not only have you kidnapped the retainer of Lord Noriyuki, but you assumed her identity and led one of his warriors astray, all for the sake of endangering those outside the borders of our world. I would rather keep our bloodline's reputation from becoming any more ruined, and so, upon Noriyuki's request, I have decided to take matters into my own hands."
Even through his closed eyes and his hand covering them, Raphael could see the glow grow unbearably bright. Akumu apparently sensed it even more, for her scream was more bloodcurdling than any she had emitted beforehand. Raphael shuddered to wonder what it was that was being done to her, but he soon decided that it could hardly be worse than dying a slow death with a sai crammed into her brain. What was wounded now was her pride.
The light slowly dimmed, but Raphael still could not bring himself to open his eyes. It was only when he felt another presence standing before him that he realized that his ordeal would not be over so easily. With a deep breath, Raphael resolutely opened his eyes. And blinked.
"Gen?"
"Ah, so you breathe, ninja," Usagi's constant companion muttered under his breath. Straightening himself and walking away from him nonchalantly, he added, "Good, good. On with the body count, then."
"You must be of the same clan as Leonardo-san," said a small voice. Raphael gaped up at the young panda bear that bowed to him. "Have no fear. I am Lord Noriyuki, and we shall set things right." He took hold of Raphael's arm, meaning to help him up.
Finding his voice, Raphael pulled his arm out of Noriyuki's grasp, shaking his head. "Nice idea, kid," he told him. "But it won't work. I got bit in the leg or somethin', so I won't be walkin' anytime soon."
"Allow me to help," spoke the voice that had raged at Akumu. Looking at the figure, Raphael stiffened. The creature stopped her advancement, looking about herself. "Yes, there is an unfortunate resemblance," admitted the large white spider. "I apologize. Perhaps a less obtrusive form is in order."
A mist rose in the air, but this was of a lighter color than Akumu's foreboding fog. Raphael looked away, determined not to get caught in yet another delusion. "It is all right," Noriyuki whispered, kneeling besides him. "She will not harm you."
As Noriyuki helped Raphael up into a sitting position, Raphael gazed at the new figure. Though it was clear that she was changing her form, it wasn't accompanied by the odd, nausea-inducing sound as Akumu's shifting. Knowing that he couldn't be surprised by much after waking up to find his one remaining brother in a life-or-death battle against a giant bug, Raphael tried to be as patient as he could, given the circumstances.
When the mist cleared away, a somewhat humanoid creature with chalk-white skin was standing before him. Her long white hair was done up in an ornate fashion, and her pale blue eyes sparkled with a sad sort of kindness. Her light blue kimono was laced with cerulean embroidery and draped over her thin frame in such a way that made her legs, arms, and fingers look impossibly long. "You are called Raphael, I know," she told him quietly, her voice much more comfortable with the peaceful tone. "I am the one called Sorceress Yume. Please, allow me to heal your wound."
Raphael could not find the words to speak. He merely gaped at Yume as she slowly knelt before him, her eyes on his leg. It took him a moment to make the connection, but he soon realized that this being was the one Usagi had referred to as Yume-sama, Akumu's sister.
She touched a single long finger to his open sore where Akumu had stung him, saying, "My sister's poison is fearsome, but the spirits have created us in such a way to allow me to undo a good deal of her workings. Unfortunately, I find much of my time spent on being forced to do just that."
As she stood, Raphael followed her with his eyes, then blinked. His mind was clear. He no longer felt as though his insides were being grounded into a pulp. He cautiously moved his leg, and let out a relieved exhalation when he saw that it obeyed his commands. With Noriyuki's help, Raphael managed to make it up to his feet.
"Thanks," he said, still stunned by everything. "I feel… I feel like a million bucks." Yume smiled at him uncertainly and told him that she would take that as a good sign.
"Tomoe Ame!" Raphael's relief flooded away when he saw Lord Noriyuki scamper off towards the still body of Tomoe. Gennosuke was crouched besides Usagi, anxiously trying to rouse him. As Noriyuki fell besides Tomoe, Raphael couldn't take it anymore. He turned and looked towards his brothers.
As he moved away, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Raphael-san," said Yume in her comforting tone. "Go to Michelangelo. I will go to your other brothers. There is nothing you can do for them now." Though the words cut into him, Raphael used his distress to catapult him towards Michelangelo.
Stepping lightly, Yume moved silently towards the slain brothers, closing her eyes momentarily at the destruction her sister had caused. "Two warriors," she murmured thinly, stooping down and grabbing hold of the hilts of the swords imbedded in each turtle, "brought down only because of their love for one another. Destroyed over feelings of revenge and guilt." With a grimace, she pulled the weapons out and threw them aside. "Your world would do well to learn to see the good in what you have, rather than focus upon what has been taken away."
She peered over her shoulder, seeing Gennosuke helping a drowsy Usagi over to her. She asked if he was all right, and Gennosuke replied that the rabbit had simply blacked out, and seemed to be in the best shape of anyone else in the vicinity. Seeing the image past Yume, Usagi stopped, his eyes widening. "Leonardo-san!"
Gennosuke quickly put his arms around Usagi, preventing the rabbit from getting any closer to the spectacle. "Yume-sama! What has happened? I did not… I… please, tell me! I had nothing to do with this deed, did I?" Grateful that the samurai had arrived after she had discarded of his own sword that had struck Leonardo down, Yume smiled sadly and shook her head. Though this did little to appease Usagi's grief, it at least allowed him to live with himself.
A wail rose up from the room, which Usagi immediately recognized as Noriyuki. Stepping out of Gennosuke's large arms, he looked behind him and saw that the young lord was holding Tomoe's body against him, sobbing. His cloak of melancholy growing ever-more suffocating, Usagi whispered, "Tomoe Ame."
"Poor girl," Gennosuke commented. His inherent brusqueness helped anchor Usagi into reality before he drowned amidst his sorrows. "She had been missing for days, and I knew when I saw her earlier today that there was something odd about her. I would have never guessed that Akumu the Witch would have had dealings with her if I hadn't overheard part of her conversation with you. Whatever happened to her, it's clear she died with honor."
"I wish there was something I could do for the girl," Yume said. "However, she is gone, and is in a much happier place than this. The only individuals that I can do anything for are those who passed while within the Dreamscape."
Usagi looked up at Yume, hoping against hope. "Then… does this mean…?" Instead of answering, she simply knelt down besides Donatello and Leonardo, looking at the two brothers in an almost maternal way. As she looked upon them, she placed one thin, long, pale hand on each of their sword wounds.
"Akumu would not allow them to do away with one another so quickly after spending so long to make her move," she answered absently. "Though they no longer breathe, their spirits are most assuredly trapped within the Dreamscape, waiting to be manipulated by Akumu for her and Hebi's amusement."
She said nothing else as she closed her eyes in concentration, searching for the wandering souls of the two young fighters. Behind her, Usagi and Gennosuke stood silently, holding their breaths and waiting for a miracle.
Some yards away from them, Raphael was on his knees and holding Michelangelo's head in his lap. A few tears sped down his cheeks as he stared at his brother's wounds. Michelangelo looked as though he had received a terrible burn on his right shoulder, corroding and misshaping his shell on that side. Bruises lined his arms, and it seemed as though his middle digit on his left hand was broken. But the worst, the absolute worst of it all, was what had happened just over where his heart was.
It seemed as though Akumu had managed to get him close to her mouth, biting deep into him. The flesh looked as though it had been shredded, and whatever wasn't bleeding profusely was drenched in a sticky, smoking fluid that reeked of death and decay. And yet… yet still he lived.
It wouldn't be for very long, however. Raphael knew this, and Michelangelo undoubtedly knew this as well. His mouth was forever moving, softly reminiscing with his brother about times gone by. "Remember the night we went topside after the mousers crashed our pad and you got locked in that van? Hah, you musta felt like a putz. What about that time that I helped out the Silver Sentry and became the coolest superhero ever? Second to nobody. Seriously, Nobody was awesome. Wonder what his life is like right about now…."
"Mikey, will you quit it?" Michelangelo gaped up at his brother's harsh outcry. Looking away, ashamed of his outburst, Raphael murmured, "This ain't the time. Not when you're like this."
"What are you talking about, Raph?" Raphael slowly moved his eyes back to look at Michelangelo at the sound of his oddly optimistic tone of voice. "If this isn't the time, then when is?
"Raph… you didn't expect us to stay this way forever, did you? Once Splinter was gone, we shoulda all known… that sometimes we just need to let go. We just gotta sit back and enjoy life while we've still got it… and if we gotta go, we go strong. I liked the times I got to spend with you and Leo and Donnie and April and Casey, and all the rest. And yeah, I wish I coulda stuck around a little longer… but there are some things we can change, and some things we can't. This is one of the things we can't change."
Noting the crushed expression on Raphael's face, Michelangelo stopped. "Quit it, Mikey," Raphael sobbed. "Just stop. You're in no position to give me life lessons 'n food for thought or none 'a that, so let me bawl a little for the first time in my life, okay? Jeez, don't you know what I feel like? I come in here, ready to get Donnie back and help Leo get over some stupid nightmares, and the next thing I know, I'm snoozin' on the floor while everyone's gettin' canned. I wake up and can't do nuthin' but give you a lousy sai because I can't pick myself up, and I gotta watch you get flung around like volleyball. So don't think I'm just gonna sit here and listen to some cheesy speech from an after school special about how we can't change things. I coulda changed everything, with an extra dodge or another jump or a harder punch. But I didn't, and now-"
"And now you sound just like Leo when Splinter died." Raphael blinked at the quiet words, frustrated because he knew them to be true. "Next," Michelangelo went on, "you're gonna end up finding somebody to yell at for you not being good enough to resurrect everyone in the building. Look, I'm not gonna try and pull a Sensei and claim that there's some big lesson to learn from all of this. But if you're gonna take anything away from tonight, it's that feeling guilty about the 'could-haves' and 'should-haves' don't accomplish nothing… nothing but nightmares."
Nightmares... nightmares.
As he spoke the word, Michelangelo allowed himself to lean back against Raphael's lap, looking just beyond his brother. Ever since Splinter had died, Michelangelo had felt as though he never got to prove himself. Other than winning the Battle Nexus Championship because of a fluke, he often wondered if the lessons Splinter had spent much of his life teaching had any visible impact on Michelangelo's life. Now, he had had a chance to prove himself. He remembered a dim realization from only minutes ago, in which he understood that failure would mean the end. His eyesight dimming around the edges, Michelangelo asked, "Did I fail, Raph?"
Fresh tears spilled from Raphael's eyes. Michelangelo had been so lucid just seconds ago, making Raphael hope that his injuries only looked worse than they actually were. But now, seeing the glassy look over Michelangelo's eyes, Raphael came to terms with the fact that he would have to accept the truth. "No, Mikey," he choked out. "You did good."
Raphael watched as a smile slowly broke out over Michelangelo's face. He heard someone stepping in behind him, but he didn't dare look away. He never got a chance to be with Splinter at the end, nor had he seen Leonardo and Donatello go down. He was determined not to turn away from the last piece of his family.
Michelangelo closed his eyes. Though pain wracked through his entire body, he finally felt as though he was at peace. He had come through. When it really mattered, he had come through. "Then I won't have nightmares anymore," he whispered.
Raphael wondered over this, looking at Michelangelo's face and then his broken body. He watched as Michelangelo's chest rose with a breath, lowered as he exhaled… and never moved again.
After a long time, the person behind him spoke. "Raphael?" Raphael stared straight ahead as he heard Usagi's voice. His face was streaked with tears, and it was Usagi's pregnant pause that made him wonder how long he had been sobbing for.
"I have some news for you, my friend," the rabbit continued, deciding to stay out of Raphael's line of sight. "Your brother Michelangelo was fortunate enough to have evaded Akumu's nightmarish attacks. This means that his spirit was not trapped in the Dreamscape, and he is at rest. However, as for your brothers who were in the Dreamscape at the time of their unfortunate battle… Yume-sama was able to bring their spirits back into their bodies."
The words elicited a barrage of emotions from Raphael. He turned and gawked at Usagi, his mouth agape. From the corner of his eye, some distance away, he saw that the two still figures of Leonardo and Donatello had merged, signaling that the two were in a tearful embrace. Raphael was quickly overjoyed, but then remembered about Michelangelo. Because Michelangelo had saved himself from Akumu, he wouldn't be able to benefit from Yume's powers. He was gone. Gone forever.
He stood quickly, causing Usagi to back away in concern. "What do you intend to do?" Usagi asked him. Turning towards his brothers and the sorceress who looked down on them, Raphael knew what he intended to do. He intended to plead with Yume, asking if there was anything she could do for Michelangelo. Just look at him, please, look at him, and say that there was something she could do to give him even just a few extra hours until-
"There are some things we can change, and some things we can't. This is one of the things we can't change."
Raphael stopped and looked back at Michelangelo. He remembered thinking that his little brother was finally growing up… and now he would stop growing. This is one of the things we can't change. Maybe there was a plateau, a plain, a final level in the video game. And when we're done, maybe it's time to just turn the television off, and do something else. Maybe that was why Michelangelo took this so peaceably while Raphael… couldn't. Raphael was still searching for more, rather than being content with what he had. And right now, thanks to Yume… he had Leonardo and Donatello.
The two brothers held each other tightly, their needless apologies coming out in rushed voices and overlapping with one another. Yume watched on, her perpetual sad smile still on her face. It was a very long time before they managed to part and looked into one another's eyes.
"Donnie," Leonardo gasped, his face wet with his tears. "Donnie, I…." Donatello tried to shush him, but Leonardo wouldn't be quieted. "After Sensei died, do you remember? I yelled at you. Screamed. Like a madman. I didn't ask if you were okay, I wasn't glad that you were safe, even though you had been out of my sight for nearly ten minutes. All I did was shout at you for being-"
"Too passive," Donatello finished, his voice rough with emotion. "Yeah, Leo, I remember. Maybe you were right… but that doesn't matter now. It doesn't matter. We're okay. We were guided back."
At this, he looked up at Yume. "Thank you, Yume-sama. To think, the only reason I came here was because I didn't trust you. Please, forgive me for that."
The words were hardly out of his mouth when Yume informed him, "If not for your proper distrust, Leonardo-san would have been captured in your stead, and you and your other brothers immediately killed. By coming into a strange land for your brother's sake, you have single-handedly spared the majority of your family."
Both Donatello and Leonardo froze. "The majority?" Leonardo asked, his blood turning into ice inside his veins.
Yume's smooth pallid face wrinkled with worry. "There is one whose presence I did not detect in the Dreamscape at all tonight. Unfortunately, this is also the one who seems to be gravely injured."
"Not anymore." The three of them turned and looked back at Raphael. He was standing a few feet behind Yume, and the two brothers noticed that they had never seen him with such a facial expression on his face. It seemed as though he bore a strange combination of depression and appreciation. "He ain't injured no more," he said lowly. "Mikey's just sleepin' without any nightmares. Like all 'a us are gonna eventually do."
Shocked, Donatello leapt to his feet to run from wherever Raphael had come. Raphael held him back. "Don, no," Raphael told him quietly, even as Donatello struggled to look behind him. "It'll be easier if you don't."
"Yes," Yume said softly, offering a hand to the horror-struck Leonardo. As she helped him to his feet, she spoke, "There has been enough heartache here. You have lost a brother, and Lord Noriyuki has lost a very dear friend."
"Tomoe Ame?" Leonardo asked, dumbfounded. "She's-?" Yume silenced him with a single nod.
"It could not be helped," Yume told him. "She was weak from exhaustion and suffering. I fear that she was possibly beyond help at the time of her death, and only worsened her condition to protect Usagi-san."
Taking all of this in, Leonardo looked past Raphael. Yume's arrival dispelled some of the inky darkness of the room, allowing him to see Gennosuke and Usagi comforting the young Noriyuki as he sobbed over his lost friend's body. His vision wavering from the tears that threatened to overflow, Leonardo looked away, only to see the motionless form of Michelangelo.
He quickly shifted his gaze and saw that Donatello was hugging Raphael and weeping. Raphael seemed devastated, but still hopeful. Looking up, he met Leonardo's eyes and held out an arm, inviting him into the embrace. The tears finally spilling, Leonardo joined them. In a low voice, Raphael managed to explain his somewhat positive outlook in five hushed words. "I'm glad you're okay, bro."
"We've won," Donatello breathed. "We've won… so why does it feel like we've lost?" It was true. With Michelangelo's help, the three of them had managed to overcome Akumu and survive the night, denying Lord Hebi success. Now that someone as powerful as Yume was involved, it would surely be seen to that something was done to permanently rid them of Hebi's assaults. It was over. Their enemies were gone. They were one brother less… but that brother made it possible for the three of them to live on.
They did not know how long they remained in that embrace, but at length they finally parted, their faces discolored by the lines of dried tears. Donatello righted himself and, glancing behind Raphael, caught sight of Usagi leading a still-mourning Noriyuki over to them as Gennosuke gathered up Tomoe's body. His arm protectively over Noriyuki, Usagi quietly told them, "Dawn is approaching. Gennosuke and I must bring Lord Noriyuki and… Tomoe Ame to the Shogun, and explain what has happened. It would be best if you came with us, Yume-sama."
As Yume nodded and moved towards the group, Donatello stepped forward. "Usagi," he said. "Please, forgive me for whatever harm I caused you. If you could only see what it was that Akumu made me believe-"
"I do not have to see it," Usagi told him. "And your apologies are not at all necessary. I knew what Akumu was capable of, which was why I was so anxious to rid your brother of her curse. Your behavior, along with that of Leonardo-san's, is forgiven, and long forgotten."
Having hoped that Usagi had not been affronted by the rough way he had spoken to him before, Leonardo thanked him. Together, the two turtles bowed low to the samurai, who returned the gesture. "Though my heart grieves for Michelangelo," Usagi added, "I am glad that his sacrifice was not in vain, and that the three of you have survived. As for Tomoe Ame, I cannot help but believe that she fell while protecting me, and for that, she will never be forgotten. I will carry on her duty and care for Lord Noriyuki as best as I can."
With final farewell bows, Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael paid their goodbyes to Usagi, Gennosuke, and Noriyuki. The latter trio turned towards Yume, who was standing besides a shimmering white portal in the wall. "Though I already know your answer," she offered after the small group disappeared through the portal, "I will tell you that your brother can remain in this land, to be given a hero's burial with the girl. The people have long wanted to see my sister gone, and news of her 'mysterious' end will call for such an event."
"No, thank you," Leonardo answered quickly, thankful that Michelangelo was not yet referred to as a "body," but still their brother. "I think… I think he'd be happier back home." With a sad, small laugh, he threw in, "He'd probably want to be buried with his comic books.
As Donatello repressed a sob at Leonardo's comment, Raphael stepped towards Yume. "Listen, if there's anything I can do, just name it. I mean, if it weren't for you, my family would be completely gone."
Her smile widening ever so slightly, Yume told him, "Your family will never be gone, Raphael-san. Not so long as you think back on them fondly. As you grow older and lose one another to age or sickness, you would do well to remember that. As the old adage goes, life is but a dream."
Giving Raphael a moment to reflect on this, Yume walked towards him and handed him a small pouch. "Use this to return you to your homeworld. Simply concentrate on where you wish to go, and blow the enclosed dust out into the space before you." As he accepted the pouch, Yume placed one hand of his. "And remember, Raphael-san," she finished. "Focus not on what is lost to you, but on what you carry in your heart."
"I know," Raphael told her as she stepped away. "There are some things I just can't change." Peering behind him at his two remaining brothers, he smirked, "Hear that, guys? No use dwelling on what's in the past. Roll with the punches. This message brought to you by NBC." He was glad to hear quiet chuckles coming from both of them. They would get through this. They would.
Raphael turned back in time to see the last wisp of Yume's kimono flutter away into the portal. The light slowly dimmed as the gateway went out, leaving the brothers alone in the dark room. With Yume now gone, a strong sense of desolation clung to the very air they breathed, encouraging them to move. "Come on," Leonardo told Raphael as he put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's get Mikey."
With heavy hearts, the three turtles walked towards where their slain brother lay. Raphael cringed, hoping that the sight of the gaping gash on his chest or the horrendous burn on his shoulder wouldn't further upset the others. They stood there for a moment, merely staring down at Michelangelo. "Three alive, one gone," Raphael suddenly whispered without meaning to. "Better than three gone and one alive."
Donatello stepped up and crouched besides Michelangelo. With a deep breath, he put his hands under his shoulders as he stared into his face. As Leonardo grabbed Michelangelo's legs, Donatello lowly remarked, "Funny. I don't think I've seen him this happy in a long time."
Feeling numb, Leonardo hoisted him up as he said, "He must be having a good dream." Raphael turned away from them and opened the pouch, smiling a wan smile as he thought of Michelangelo's last words. I won't have nightmares anymore.
As he thought of their lair and blew the strange white powder into the air, Raphael was willing to bet that, though he would be in a melancholy mood for a long time thereafter, Leonardo wouldn't have any nightmares either. Not now that he knew that they would always be a family: four brothers and a father. This is the way it was meant to be, and this was the way it always will be… in their memories…
… and in their dreams.
END.