"Leo! Leo, no!" April screamed. "Don't do this to me! I need you! We all need you! Leo!"
Her desperation at fever pitch, she put her hands on his head. There was no way that this could work…how long had he had no pulse? Was it because she'd spent too much time fussing over the others? Was it her fault?
No. She didn't have time for all that self-blaming crap. If there was a chance this would work, and she didn't do it now, then it would be her fault. She drew several deep breaths and started to concentrate.
Leo would wake up.
He had to.
Slowly, the horrific scenes of Shredder killing his brothers began to fade. They drifted away like mist. Leo coughed up another mouthful of blood. He was losing sensation in his body; the pain was starting to lessen.
"Yes, it won't be long now," the icy voice said. "Your fear, your life…so nourishing, so delicious…"
Leo couldn't make sense out of the words. His vision started to black out at the edges until he couldn't see anything. The icy voice's gloating drifted away, everything was drifting away…
He was drifting away…
Totally numb, fading into nothingness…
A soft white light glowed in the distance. Suddenly, his spirits lifted. The light was warm and gentle, drawing him closer in a soft, loving embrace.
Out of nowhere, the dark silhouette of a young woman interposed between him and the light. "Leonardo! You're asleep! Wake up, wake up, wake up! You can't die! You can't, Leo! We need you!"
April? Leo thought.
"You're dying, but you've got to come back. We were so directionless while you were gone…we can't lose you again! Please, please, please…"
No, Leo thought. I'm not asleep. I'm dead, and that light wants me. It's warm. You're in my way, April.
"LEO!" The silhouette produced a tessen and struck him. The sharp edged scored his arm.
Crying out in pain, Leo spiraled away from the light. Pain was back. The numbness was gone. He crashed to the ground, back at the construction site, gasping for air and coughing up gouts of blood.
April stood over him, her face contorted in anger and grief. "Don't you dare, Leo," she screamed. "Don't you dare!" She pushed her hands onto his wounds, pressing hard.
"It doesn't matter, April," Leo rasped. "I've lost too much blood." He wanted to go back to the light; he could see it drifting in the sky far above them. No more pain or suffering. His brothers were there waiting for him. Maybe Master Splinter was, too.
"Please, Leo." April broke into tears. "Who's going to lead us?"
"I can't." He started drifting up from the ground, back toward the light.
April grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the ground. "You're more than just my friend. You're my leader. My captain. You're the best leader I've ever known. Please, please don't leave us again! I can't bear it!"
The huge beaver returned, looming over them. It growled and struck, knocking April out of the way. "You'd be mine by now. That interfering girl thinks she's saving you, but all she's doing is allowing me to savor your dwindling life forces even more. You're never waking up from this dream."
"Dream?" Leo coughed. April had disappeared, but he could still hear her voice begging him to wake up. "This is a dream?" He coughed again, but there was no blood this time. The light had disappeared from the sky.
"Don't be a fool. The longer you hold on, the worse it gets for you. There's only so long I can chew on my food before it starts to taste bad."
Leo pushed himself up on his elbows. "Food? You're eating me? That's really weird." If this was just a dream, there wasn't any reason to be afraid.
"This isn't fun anymore," the beaver snarled. It opened its mouth wide; Leo could feel all of his strength fading and watched wisps of something bleeding away from him and into the beaver's gaping maw. The light in the sky came back, bigger and brighter and warmer and more beckoning than ever before.
"WAKE UP, LEONARDO!" Tessen drawn, April launched herself into the beaver. Her foot landed squarely in its chest. It burst out coughing; wisps left its mouth and drifted their way back to Leo. The light faded, but only slightly.
Leo watched in horror as the beaver snatched up April and swallowed her whole. She disappeared down his gullet with a scream.
"Now," growled the beaver. "Where were we?"
Before it could open its mouth, there was the sound of a slash and April burst out of the beaver's stomach. "PLEASE, LEO!" More of the wisps accompanied her, floating back toward Leo.
The beaver howled in pain, even as its abdomen knitted itself back together. "All right," it roared, "if you want this to drag on forever, I'll really make you suffer!" The beaver shifted into mist, and the mist condensed into Shredder. Shredder extended his blades and charged. April couldn't stop him in time. The center blade extended.
It plunged straight through Leo's throat.
"Let go," Shredder hissed. "Stop hanging on. You've failed as a leader. Let go!"
"Hang on, Leo!" April screamed. "Hang on!"
It was too late. He drifted up from the ground, soaring into the light.
A small, slender hand caught hold of one of his fingers, tethering him to pain and suffering, holding him back from the warmth.
"I won't let you, Leo," April's voice said, racked with sobs. "I won't let you go."
April didn't open her eyes. She kept concentrating, even though she felt like her strength was draining, even though her head was exploding with pain. She wasn't going to let go unless he opened his eyes and told her that he was alive.