Concealed
Chpt. 13
...
A wind bristled through his hair, a smile wide across his face, his eyes gleaming far too overconfident. The moon came into full focus above him, heart raping a soft melody.
"Grim reaper when I see, I'll smile for it will never be me whom you take," the eleven year old whispered as he stayed to the shadows of the old wear house. In the basement's wake he heard a shrilling scream, heart pounding faster in excitement.
...
Twilight rested about the small market place, the triceriton owners of the shop packing everything away. Leonardo sighed his thoughts bouncing about his head, not completely sure how he would proceed in anything. He could already hear his sister nagging at him, how stupid he had been lately, it wasn't at all like him. He could feel the gravel penetrate his bare feet and the loud clanking strides of his companion, but at the time none of that mattered.
He could easily turn away now, he wondered if leaving a machine he barely knew would be going against his own honor code. His eyes turning back to the turtle, he could kill him now and pretend this all never happened. Was his heart's iron bind unraveling? Should he allow it to over his mind's weak curiosity? His feet came to a sudden halt, Raph nearly toppling over him.
"Why do I feel you know nothing and are useless to me?" he snapped, hating his feeble heart always willing to overthrow a mission over his emotions.
"What are you talkin' about now?" he snapped back to him, the boy growling under his breath to his far too quick tongue.
"What do you know about what we are? Why am I drawn to you?" he said slowly, if Raph didn't know better he would swear he saw innocence sparkling in his gaped eyes.
"I can't answer that right now, I'm not even completly sure, but when I start dishing out answers I expect you to do the same, got it?"
He gave him a half smile to the response and Ralph couldn't help but notice the deceit lying somewhere in it.
...
"The foot clan?" the leader of the gang scoffed raising his blade from the headless corpse marred with still bleeding scars and burns,"Why should I worry about them?"
"Boss, betraying Oruku Saki isn't the most brilliant thing to do! We could become that guy!" the man snapped his voice thick in a Brooklyn accent shaking strongly, finger extended twitching to the corpse.
"Shut up, little brother! I know what I'm doing, sure ratting out a few foot soldiers wasn't the best choice, but it did come with its perks and whats the best he's going to do? His bitch of a daughter's gone and I ain't afraid of twerpy Leonardo. Trust me, I know the foot, it's a family affair, if its personal its the family that handles it and Saki ain't got time to handle it."
Leonardo snarled under his breath to that, what right does he have to call him ,'twerpy'?
...
"The foot clan is your enemy as well?" Don questioned staring at the 'utrom' before him, his younger brother still glaring to the man from behind him. He didn't wish to trust them either, but he had to get Raph back. It had been twenty minutes since their brother and the foot clan boy had disappeared, each second counted and it didn't help that ten of those minutes had gone into bickering meanlessly to their new hosts. Don knew he had to gain their trust to get his brother back, his hand was secured across his younger brother's mouth as he proceeded to negotiate with the aliens before him.
"Yes, we have been since Oruku Saki rose from the shadows of the underground years ago, but that is a story for another day. You have yet to tell us why you and your brothers broke into our base."
The lead utrom still disguised in human skill's eyes hidden behind dark shade sternly stared to the two brothers making Don sigh thinking of Master Splinter and what he would say to the fact that not only did he lose his brother in another dimension, but he lost him with Oruku Saki's son!
"Please understand, we have nothing to do with the foot clan, their vendetta toward us is only because we exist!" he began quickly words disappearing in his head as he stared ahead to the blue haired man surrounded still by the utroms attached to metal bodies,''We didn't come to steal anything, we are only here because of this..."
He presented the broken canister before him, the man's blue eyebrow raising,"Please, we just wished to understand why you created us and what was your reasoning behind it all..."
...
Leonardo stared to the rising moon head resting against an abandoned shop, lanterns scattered about the place. Their planet was very rural for an advanced civilization, compared to the last planet, he could definitely see why they were in war. But why were they of all things a threat? Compared to the soldiers of this world, the inhabitants seemed peaceful never batting an eye to him and Raph.
"Hurry up," he hissed behind him to the turtle,"I don't have all night to wait for you to get done pissing."
"Well excuse me for having a normal bowl system!" he barked back from the other side of the building.
"I don't want to die and tell the enemies I've slaughtered, I died waiting for an overgrown turtle to get done pissing!" he growled a migrane sparking up.
"I'm sorry, Master Leonardo, for now on I'll just hold it," he grumbled a sigh escaping Leo's mouth.
"Whatever..." he grumbled staring ahead to the moon, it was twice the size of earth's and was a vibrant blue color. He couldn't help, but stare. Cold fingers slithered around his wrist tightly he expected to see Raph when his eyes moved back but instead found another familiar face.
"Child, I need your help," Lonae gasped clinging harder to him, her other hand tightly holding her wound.
...
"Hey!" the thug spun around to the sudden noise dropping his brother's collar eyes scanning the area precaution shining in them, but it dropped as they landed on a boy hands folded arrogantly around his chest atop one of the many crates in the surrounding area clad in foot attire.
"Your kidding right?" he groaned containing his laughter as the child barely over five feet jumped in front of him hand firmly attached to the blade at his side,"I thought Saki took betrayal to the family more seriosly then this..."
A scowl crossed the child's face to the words,"Do you even know who I am? I thought even worthless punks like you knew Oruku Saki's own son!"
The brother's face faded to relief staring at the child breaking into laughter, Leonardo's eyes slitting farther,"Thank you, Thank you God! I feared we would lose our lives for messing with the foot clan!"
Growling the older of the two's fist slammed into him,"Shut up, idiot! It isn't over yet, even the small twerpy foot soldiers are foot soldiers, so don't break down yet..."
...
"Why should I help you?" he said calmly staring at her,"If I remember correctly, you wanted me dead last time we met."
"I could be of great value to you!" she acclaimed clinging to Leonardo's hand more tightly,"I can take you to the fugatoid!"
"What makes us think you won't simply betray us when we get there?" Raph asked stepping from the shadows fully staring to the distraught woman now.
"Because, they left me for dead," she whispered near the breaking point of fading out again,"And Mozar still owes me my share of the cash..."
"Fair enough," Leonardo whispered into her ear,"But the second your use to me is up, I will throw you back to everyone you've betrayed without a seconds hesitation..."
"Fair enough..." she whispered back passing out at Leonardo's feet.
...
"You know, when we first met, I actually thought you were ruthless," Raph said with a shrug watching the boy dig through the shelves of the closed shop every few seconds eyes going to the door.
"And I thought you were useful," he answered back pulling bandages, some sorts of ointments, thick thread and a needle from a first aid kit he thankfully found walking back over to Lonae's still passed out body upon the ground.
"So who is this woman?" he questioned.
"Why she is the general's most trusted soldier," he answered simply smiling to confusion across Raph's face,"And by the looks of where I found her, I take it that she was truly the one leaking info to their enemies and she just wasn't worthwhile enough to keep alive."
"And you of all people want to help her?"
"I have no one else to tell me the ins and outs of this society, she will easily lead me to where the professor is...I will leave her to deal with her own problems and we will be back home hating each other before you can think about my plans twice."
Raph nodded watching the boy work, he had to admit, he never thought a foot soldier would be so talented at the art of healing wounds.
"It was the first thing my sister taught me," he said feeling Raph's eyes against the back of his neck,"It is the first rule of the foot code after all, you take care of your self. If you bleed to death it is in your own fault for not knowing how to heal your own wound. But, she always liked to go against that code...always fussing over my wounds."
"Sounds allot like my brother, Don," Raph said rolling his eyes, Leo laughing to that.
"And you said we have nothing in common..."
"This still means nothin', your still a threat to my family..."
"And always will be," he said smiling, ignoring the sigh coming from the turtle.
...
Clank! The blades clashed together, Leonardo's feet skidding backwards to the strong force of the man smiling before him. Hastily his body hit the floor avoiding an early grave, strands of his hair fluttering about him. The man smiling as his foot pounded into the young child, gasps erupting from him as he pressed harder.
"Say your prayers, kiddo," he whispered,"I've killed much more worthy opponents before you were in your mommy's tummy. You've got spunk and would have one day been a threat to me, but not now."
"Fuck you," he growled through strained breaths stabbing a dagger concealed in his sleeve straight through his knee cap, a howl of pain shot through the place as he quickly shot from the floor catching his breath.
"Don't stand there moron!" he snapped to his brother,"I want this kid's head!"
Nodding quickly he hurried across the room kicking open one the crates yanking out a machine gun. Quickly Leonardo, shot behind one of crates, head ducked down. The sound of the bullets clanking against concrete sounding from behind him, he bit back a groan as one glazed across his arm.
A thick layer of debri laid across the room, the man breathing hard dropping the gun for its lack of ammo.
"I think I got him boss!" he called through the thick dust in the air his voice gitty,"I think I got him!"
Bam! He hit the ground, the small silhouette standing inches in front of him. He tried to rise, but gasped to the sudden strike, blood drizzling from his mouth. Leonardo breathed heavily, his grip on the blade tightening as he sensed his life run to an end. He bit his lip looking to the now life less corpse connected to his blade bringing an unwanted memory.
No, his mind ordered firmly as he felt himself shake,It is his fault he's dead, not yours...
Before he could fully grip reality, he felt the coolness of a chain slither itself around his neck. Within seconds he couldn't breath as the lifeless snake's grasp tightened around his neck.
"Say good night, my little prince," the thug whispered shakily tightening his grip on the boy's throat with the chain,"Say hello to my younger brother in hell, little one."
He got a grip of himself long enough to realize he could easily get the upper hand. Trembling his fist shot into the thug's wound, forcing him to cry out loudly losing his grip on the child who pushed forward hitting the ground, breathing harder then he ever thought he would.
Before the man had another chance to strike, Leonardo drove his blade into his heart clasping his eyes shut as the blood splashed against his face. Then before his mind could comprehend it, he sliced his head clean off.
...
Leonardo's head rested upon the wall, fingers tightly laced around his blade mind reeling the distant memory. Shaking his head to his past weakness, why was he thinking of it now? Sighing he looked about the small shop to take his mind off it, eyes stopping to a poster of a triceriton.
"That's Zanramon," Lonae whispered as she caught his gaze,"He is there supreme overlord. That's where we'll be headed, to his mansion, most likely surrounded by grand warriors...but I doubt you of all people care."
"You must know me."
"I know your type," he laughed to her words, Raph's silhouette rose from his spot on the ground.
"Well why are we waitin'? If you know where we're going, let's leave now..."
"Raphael," Leonardo whispered,"Sit down, your worthless to me if you can't think through your exhaustion."
"I'm just fine, oh fearless leader," he snapped,"Let's get out of here before the owners get back."
"As you wish," he whispered rising wondering what was wrong with him, he swore he almost trusted the turtle, a trait so unlike him.
...
"Enter," his father called from the other side of the door, Leonardo taking a deep breath before entering calming himself.
"You were successful," it wasn't a question.
"Yes father," he whispered bowing before him presenting to him the head of the man who dared betray the foot clan.
His father smiled to him taking his son in completely,"Excellent, Leonardo. You have done well today."
He bit his lip containing his emotion as his father collected the head from his shaking fingers hand running through his son's hair,"Do not worry, child. You will learn to appreciate the blood shed, for it is doing a nobble thing for the family."
It was on this day, Leonardo's heart was lost to the darkness and his innocence of childhood disappeared. If he was to be the shredder one day, he would act like it.
TBC.
Here's a nice Christmas present just for you, my lovely fans! ^.^ Santa said you were good, so I gave you a new chapter at no cost at all! Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up soon...-.-' Hopefully...